KKR, a leading global investment firm, and the parent company of OMS Group (or the “Company”), a leading telecom infrastructure company and provider of subsea cable services, yesterday announced the signing of definitive agreements under which KKR will commit $400 million in a tailored solution for OMS Group. This marks KKR’s latest digital infrastructure investment in Southeast Asia, underlining its conviction in the role digitalization plays in the region’s burgeoning internet economy.
Founded in 1988, OMS Group is a neutral provider of integrated solutions for subsea telecommunications cable services, including installation and maintenance projects. The Company maintains a more-than-three-decades track record of providing mission-critical services to clients including major subsea equipment providers, large-scale cloud service providers, and telecom companies, and is internationally accredited for its quality management system.1 Today, OMS Group is one of the largest independent operators in this sector, with a diverse fleet including cable ships and cable barges, as well as cable landing stations serving the global telecommunications market.
KKR’s investment positions OMS Group well to accelerate its growth, including through expanding its fleet size and capabilities and investing in cable landing stations and subsea cable routes to serve global fast-growing cross-border data transmission trends and the demand for comprehensive subsea cable services.
Mr Projesh Banerjea, Director, Infrastructure at KKR, said, “OMS Group has established itself as a market leader with a longstanding track record of success and growth in Southeast Asia. As demand for greater connectivity across the region continues to grow, we are delighted to work closely with Datuk Lim, Mr Ronnie Lim, and the highly rated OMS Group team to meet this critical need. Our tailored solution for OMS Group also creates strong adjacencies with KKR’s recent digital infrastructure investments and builds on long-term secular tailwinds in the region, including increased data consumption, enterprise cloud needs, a focus on digitalization by governments, and a booming digital economy. We look forward to sharing our global network and infrastructure expertise to take OMS Group to its next stage of growth.”
Datuk Soon Foo Lim, OMS Group’s Chairman, said, “OMS Group and KKR share the same vision and appreciation of the critical data infrastructure OMS Group builds and maintain for its clients. We look forward to working with Mr David Luboff, Mr Projesh Banerjea and the world-class KKR team in advancing OMS Group’s growth plans.”
Commenting on KKR’s investment, Mr Ronnie Lim, Group CEO, OMS Group, said, “KKR’s investment in OMS Group underscores the value of OMS Group’s capabilities, which provides immense economic value to communities, corporations, and countries around the world by constructing and maintaining critical subsea data infrastructure. Together with KKR’s strong track record in supporting and investing in data infrastructure assets and its platform-building expertise, OMS Group is in a stronger position to support its clients to build and maintain greater global connectivity.”
KKR is making this investment primarily from its Asia infrastructure strategy. This transaction adds to KKR’s track record of investing in digital infrastructure regionally and globally. Past KKR investments in Southeast Asia digital infrastructure have included the regional data center platform of Singtel, a leading Asian communications technology group headquartered in Singapore, and Pinnacle Towers, a digital infrastructure platform in Asia with a strong focus on the Philippines. Globally, KKR’s investments in digital infrastructure have included CyrusOne, a global leader in the development and operation of sustainable, scalable, high-availability and flexible data center solutions, and Global Technical Realty, a build-to-suit and roll-up acquisition data center platform in Europe.
The transaction is expected to be completed by Q1 of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions. Additional details of the transaction are not disclosed.
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