Singapore-based investor ST Telemedia has bought a 49 percent stake in UK data center provider Virtus, forming a joint venture with Virtus’ existing owner Brockton Capital. 

The investment will fund growth for Virtus in the UK, adding data center experience from ST Telemedia, which has been investing in data centers and telecoms since the late 1990s, when it began to develop Internet exchanges in Asia. The companies did not say how much money is involved in the deal.

Growth plans

“Virtus has experienced rapid growth in the last five years,” said CEO of the company. ”The addition of ST Telemedia to our existing relationship with Brockton Capital will support our growth plans to expand our data centre footprint and services in key markets.”

The joint venture will be formed through ST Telemedia’s subsidiary STT GDC, 

ST Telemedia launched a data center arm, i-STT in 2000, which merged into US provider Equinix, making STT the largest shareholder in Equinix, until it divested from the company. It has also invested in Savvis (now CenturyLink) in the past.  

The company currently owns a stake in global telecom provider Level 3 Communications, which operates over 350 carrier-neutral data center facilities) and GDS Services, which has 17 high-availability carrier-neutral data centers in China.

ST Telemedia is building a 150,000 square feet (around 15,000 sq m) carrier-neutral data centre in Singapore, and the investment in Virtus gives it a foothold in the important market of London.

“We’re pleased to continue the momentum of our recent data center expansion activities with today’s announcement,” said Sio Tat Hiang, executive director of ST Telemedia. ”ST Telemedia’s investment into Virtus is at a fitting time for Europe’s data center market, particularly in the top-tier, carrier-neutral segment, where we’re seeing attractive growth opportunities.”