Vantage Data Centers is in talks to acquire Yondr Group’s Malaysian assets, including its data centre campus in Johor, in a deal valued at about US$1.6 billion (RM6.76 billion), sources told Bloomberg.
The potential acquisition would streamline the portfolio of their joint backer, DigitalBridge Group Inc, while strengthening its footprint in the Asia-Pacific region. Sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), a co-investor, is also expected to participate. Discussions are still ongoing, and details such as valuation may change. Representatives for DigitalBridge, Vantage, Yondr and ADIA declined to comment.
Yondr, co-owned by DigitalBridge and La Caisse, operates independently within DigitalBridge’s portfolio. Vantage, meanwhile, provides data centre services for cloud providers, artificial intelligence (AI) and technology firms, with operations across Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan.
DigitalBridge and Vantage already share close ties. Last year, DigitalBridge and Silver Lake Management led a US$6.4 billion equity injection into Vantage, following a €1.5 billion (RM7.38 billion) investment from AustralianSuper for its Europe, Middle East and Africa business.
The surge in AI and data-driven technologies is fuelling global data centre investments. In July, Stonepeak Partners pledged US$1.3 billion to Princeton Digital Group for its Asia-Pacific expansion. Similarly, Bain Capital-owned Chindata Group’s China operations have attracted local bidders in a potential 30 billion yuan (RM17.75 billion) deal.
In August, Bloomberg reported that DigitalBridge was weighing a stake sale in Vantage’s Asia-Pacific business worth up to US$1 billion and had previously explored selling its Hong Kong assets for as much as US$500 million.