True Internet Data Center Co, a unit of conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group, is seeking to raise about $150 million from a sale of a minority stake, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The stake in the Bangkok-based company has attracted interest from other firms in the industry and financial investors, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the process is private. Non-binding offers are due as early as this week, said the people.
Deliberations are ongoing and the company may decide not to sell the holdings, they said. An external representative for True IDC declined to comment.
CP Group was exploring a divestment of True IDC that could fetch around $200 million, Bloomberg News reported in September. The company said at the time that it had no intention of selling the business.
True IDC is a carrier-neutral data centre and cloud service provider, and is part of CP Group’s digital unit Ascend Corp, according to its website. The unit operates four data centres in Thailand and one in Myanmar, True IDC’s website shows.
Digital infrastructure such as towers and data centres are attracting interest from investors following a surge in online activity during the coronavirus pandemic.
PLDT Inc, the Philippines’ biggest telecommunications and digital services provider by market value, has picked preferred bidders for its local towers valued at $1.5 billion, people familiar with the matter have said. Time Dotcom Bhd, a Malaysian telecommunications provider, is considering strategic options for its data centres business that could be worth more than $500 million, Bloomberg News has reported.
CP Group is controlled by billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont, who has a net worth of $4.6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He is the biggest shareholder and senior chairman of CP Group, Thailand’s largest closely held company, with interests in agriculture, food, retail and telecommunications.
