TIME divests stakes in data centre subsidiaries to DigitalBridge

KUALA LUMPUR:

TIME dotCom Bhd has partnered with affiliates of global investment firm DigitalBridge Group Inc to accelerate the expansion of its AIMS Group data centre business across Asia.

Time has proposed to divest 49 per cent of the ordinary shares and 100 per cent of the irredeemable convertible preference shares in wholly-owned AIMS Data Centre Holding Sdn Bhd (AIMS), which undertakes data centre business activities in Malaysia and Singapore.

Under the strategic partnership, Time would also divest its 21 per cent of the ordinary shares in 51 per cent-owned subsidiary AIMS Data Centre (Thailand) Ltd (AIMS TH), which has a data centre presence in Thailand, it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

At the end of the transaction, the Time group would have a 30 per cent stake in AIMS TH and DigitalBridge 70 per cent.

Time said that as part of the proposed transactions, AIMS and AIMS TH are collectively valued at RM3.20 billion on a 100 per cent enterprise value basis, implying about 37.3 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2021.

This compares to its current book value of RM240 million and represents a significant gain since Time first acquired AIMS in 2012 for RM119 million.

“The strategic partnership with DigitalBridge is expected to accelerate the growth of AIMS into new markets and achieve greater scale in the highly connected, ecosystemcentric data centre business segment, in line with the company’s positive outlook on the sector,” Time said. —