In a move poised to revolutionize Indonesia’s digital landscape, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (Indosat or IOH) announces that BDx Indonesia, a joint venture of Indosat, BDx Data Centers (BDx), and Lintasarta, has agreed to acquire a portfolio of carrier-neutral colocation and edge sites in key cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Batam, Medan, Makassar, Bandung, and Semarang, including ten strategic sites connected to six domestic and five international subsea cables.
Three Indonesian banks—BCA, Bank Permata, and Bank Bukopin—are providing debt to BDx Indonesia to optimize its capital structure and support its rapid growth trajectory. This IDR 2,625 billion transaction further expands the partnership between Indosat and BDx initiated in 2022, cementing their shared vision of establishing Indonesia’s premier data center operation to support the Government’s Digital Roadmap and digital infrastructure objectives. Furthermore, the transaction emphasizes a mutual commitment to empowering Indonesia through technological advancement. FTI Capital Advisors acted as the financial advisor to Indosat in this transaction.
The new portfolio will further add to the interconnected ecosystem BDx Indonesia is building. This ecosystem across the network of BDx Indonesia data centers will enable interconnection between enterprises and several cloud providers, content delivery networks and digital finance companies over Internet Exchanges (IXs), cloud onramps, and private interconnects involving multiple telco providers, leading to distributed digitalization enablement across Indonesia. This will help accelerate hybrid digital transformations and significantly enhance the digital experience of enterprises, technology companies, and internet users.
BDx Indonesia has already significantly expanded and upgraded the four data centers in Jakarta and West Java that were transferred in 2022, with one site ready for high-density AI workloads powered by green hydropower and equipped with sustainable liquid cooling technology. Most sites have significant expansion potential in existing buildings and adjacent land parcels, and the Batam site can be developed to cater for spillover demand from Singapore. The current portfolio will be expanded and upgraded as per global BDx operating standards, providing enterprises, cloud providers, and content delivery networks with a significant opportunity to deploy their critical workloads closer to the network edge.
Post-transaction, BDx Indonesia will have a total IT capacity of 150MW+ in Indonesia across ten operating carrier-neutral colocation facilities in all major cities, a new 15MW facility that is being built near Jakarta with an estimated RFS by Q4 2024, a 100MW hyperscale campus at Suryacipta, East Jakarta, and carrier-neutral edge sites in all main islands of Indonesia which are built per eco-friendly design specifications and which enable the digitalization of a significant portion of the population.
All BDx Indonesia data centers will offer IX facilities and private network interconnects with cloud onramps from various partners.
BDx Indonesia is making substantial investments in expanding the digital infrastructure in Indonesia in response to customer needs, particularly in catering to their hybrid workloads across critical Indonesian cities. By bolstering local digital infrastructure, BDx Indonesia aims to create meaningful employment, offer education to local communities, and drive the digital economy, especially in rural areas where digitization will foster financial inclusion and wealth creation.
Vikram Sinha, President Director and Chief Executive Officer of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, said: “We’re honored to play a role in shaping Indonesia’s digital future through this impactful collaboration. This transaction underscores our dedication to building a sustainable business and propelling Indosat’s evolution from Telco to TechCo. Collaborating with BDx Indonesia not only enhances our customer service but also reinforces our commitment to connecting and empowering every Indonesian. Crucially, aligning our strategic goals will enable Indosat and BDx Indonesia to elevate the nation’s technological landscape.”
Indosat continues its transformational journey centered around technology platforms, echoing its commitment to creating sustainable and innovative solutions beyond traditional telecom services. The deliberate shift to TechCo underscores Indosat’s steadfast determination to focus on delivering marvelous experiences and digital leadership with an asset-light approach.
Mayank Srivastava, Chief Executive Officer of BDx, said: “This acquisition is a testament to BDx Indonesia’s commitment to the country’s digital future. It is also an endorsement of the technical and operational capabilities of BDx, providing confidence to our partner to sell their entire portfolio of data center and edge sites to us.”
At the heart of the collaboration is Indosat’s larger purpose to connect and empower every Indonesian. With data centers as catalysts for digital economic growth, Indosat and BDx Indonesia combine their collective expertise to deliver sustainable and innovative solutions beyond traditional telecom services and set new industry benchmarks in the nation’s digital transformation.
