Ooredoo's Indonesian unit weighs sale of data centres: sources

[HONG KONG] Indosat, the Indonesian wireless carrier unit of Qatar's Ooredoo QPSC, is considering a sale of its data centres business amid consolidation in the industry, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Jakarta-listed business is working with a financial adviser on the potential sale of the assets, which could fetch from US$150 million to US$200 million, the people said.

The sale could draw potential interest from infrastructure investors and telecommunications companies, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn't public.

Ooredoo has been in talks with CK Hutchison Holdings to combine their Indonesian wireless phone businesses, a move that would consolidate South-east Asia's biggest market in terms of subscribers. The firms agreed last month to extend exclusive negotiations until Sept 23.

Founded in 1967, Indosat was acquired in 2008 by Ooredoo, which owns about 65 per cent of the company, according to its website. It has about 60 million customers as of the first half of this year, a 5.3 per cent increase from 2020.

Telecommunications companies are seeking to sell assets that aren't part of their core businesses, such as wireless towers and data centres, amid increasing interest from financial and infrastructure funds.

A disposal of data centres by Indosat would follow its sale of more than 4,200 towers to Digital Colony, now known as DigitalBridge, earlier in the year in a US$750 million sale and leaseback deal.

Sale considerations are at an early stage and the company could decide to retain the assets, the people said. A representative for Indosat declined to comment.

BLOOMBERG