PE-backed data center platform makes Asia investments

The acquisitions include a majority position in XL Axiata’s data center portfolio in Indonesia, a suite of development-stage projects in China, and a 100% stake in a Singaporean data center to be used by IO Data Centers, a major US-based operator. The expansion establishes Princeton as the only company globally that owns data centers in China, Singapore and Indonesia, according to a statement.

“In Singapore, the acquisition gives our customers a compelling solution to their scalability needs in the region’s digital hub,” said Rangu Salgame, Princeton’s chairman and CEO, also noting that the company’s Shanghai project would be among the largest in the region. “These transactions represent a significant step towards building a pan-Asian multibillion-dollar digital infrastructure portfolio.”

Warburg Pincus invested $300 million in the company in 2017, when it operated out of New York under the name Princeton Growth Ventures. The plan is to create a platform of digital infrastructure assets across China, Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East and Latin America, where demand for high-quality cloud, mobile and video streaming services is seen as outstripping supply.

Asia is expected to become the largest data center market globally in the near term, with developing economies experiencing rapid digitization driving most of the growth. Rising private equity interest in the sector has therefore focused substantially on China, with recent forays into the country including buy-and-build plans from the likes of GIC Private and Bain Capital.

Previous activity from Warburg Pincus includes a partnership with internet services provider 21Vianet to develop enough data centers in China to host several million servers.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Southeast Asia
• Technology
• Infrastructure
• Real estate
• Buyouts
• China
• Indonesia
• Singapore
• Warburg Pincus Asia