PAG Real Estate (PAG) has announced that it will launch a new digital infrastructure company as part of a push to capitalize on growing demand in Asia.
According to the investment management firm, the as-yet-unnamed new company will focus on colocation, cloud, hyperscale, and enterprise data centers, including network and fiber assets in the Asia-Pacific region. PAG says it already has $2 billion in investments in this sector and has plans to invest another $10 billion.
The new company will be helmed by former ChinData executive Kris Kumar. He previously founded Bridge Data Centres, which merged with ChinData, and was the founding executive and regional head of APAC for Digital Realty before that.
Kumar will assume the role of Chairman of this company, where he will be joined by other as-yet-unnamed 'experienced executives'. It is understood that the business will commence operations in September.
Based in Singapore, the team will focus its efforts on Japan, Australia, and other Asian markets.
“With PAG’s entrepreneurial approach, decades of experience, superior investment track record, and ready access to a competitive cost of capital, my perennial enthusiasm for the sector quickly resurfaced, to lift me out of my year-long retirement,” said Kumar.
“I am looking forward to helping build a platform company on the strong foundation of an already-substantive investment by PAG in the sector over the last four years. I strongly believe in our vision of becoming a diligent, customer-focused, and profitable digital infrastructure investor/operator in the region.”
Kumar had previously announced his retirement in May last year after he left hyperscale operator ChinData, which listed on the US stock market in the latter part of the year at a valuation of $4.9 billion.
