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% of the ordinary shares and 100% 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% of the ordinary shares in 51%-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 on Nov 22.
At the end of the transaction, the Time group would have a 30% stake in AIMS TH and DigitalBridge 70%.
Time said that as part of the proposed transactions, AIMS and AIMS TH are collectively valued at RM3.2 billion on a 100% 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, ecosystem-centric data centre business segment, in line with the company’s positive outlook on the sector,” Time said.
The proposed transactions are expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2023, subject to certain conditions precedent (including Time shareholders’ approval) being satisfied.
Time commander-in-chief Afzal Abdul Rahim said this strategic partnership allows Time to crystallise substantial value from the investment made in AIMS over the years.
“Proceeds from the transaction of about RM2 billion will partly be used to pay a special dividend of up to RM1 billion to our shareholders, and the balance will be reinvested into the group to further grow shareholder value,” he added. - Bernama
