Digital Colony teams up with ex-Edotco CEO for Asia towers bet: sources

[NEW YORK] Digital Colony formed a partnership with former Edotco Group chief executive officer Suresh Sidhu to invest in mobile towers in the Asia-Pacific region, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The Singapore-based platform, known as Edgepoint Infrastructure, is set to grow by making acquisitions as well as through greenfield development, which involves building towers on new sites, said one of the people, who requested anonymity because the information isn't yet public.

Edgepoint could amass 20,000 to 50,000 towers in the next five to seven years, with possible equity capital commitments from Digital Colony and its partners of US$1 billion or more, said one of the people. A specific sum has not been earmarked and will depend on opportunities that arise.

Boca Raton, Florida-based Digital Colony, part of Colony Capital, is in talks to acquire a stake in Centratama Telekommunikasi Indonesia, Bloomberg reported in September. Discussions are ongoing, said a person with knowledge of the matter.

A representative for Digital Colony, which also has offices in cities including Singapore, declined to comment. MR Sidhu, who resigned from Edotco in March, didn't respond to requests for comment.

Digital infrastructure, such as towers, data centres and fibre, has become an increasing area of focus for institutional investors amid ongoing technology rollouts globally.

BLOOMBERG