Adia acquires stake in southeast Asia-focused EdgePoint Infrastructure

EdgePoint Infrastructure develops, acquires and operates telecommunication towers, distributed antenna systems and adjacent infrastructure in the region

Adia has committed up to $500 million to invest in EdgePoint Infrastructure. Delores Johnson/The National

A wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), one of the world's biggest sovereign wealth funds, acquired a significant minority stake in digital infrastructure platform EdgePoint Infrastructure, committing to invest up to $500 million in the company.

EdgePoint is focused on developing, acquiring and operating telecommunication towers, distributed antenna systems and adjacent infrastructure in southeast Asia, Adia said in a statement on Thursday.

Adia will support the future growth of the platform, which is expected to include both acquisitions and the development of new towers, the authority said.

"This agreement with EdgePoint aligns with a number of our key investment themes, including the growth of digital infrastructure and our confidence in the fast-growing markets of Asia," Khadem AlRemeithi, executive director of the real estate and infrastructure department at Adia, said. "We believe this platform can play an important role in increasing both the capacity and coverage of digital services in the region, particularly in Indonesia where recent regulatory changes are encouraging international investors to explore opportunities.”

Adia, which does not disclose its assets, invests on behalf of the Abu Dhabi government and is the fourth-biggest sovereign fund globally – after Norway, China and Kuwait – according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. Adia holds directly, or through its subsidiaries, investments across various asset classes including equities, fixed income, real estate and private equity.

EdgePoint was formed in late 2020 by affiliates of digital infrastructure investment firm DigitalBridge and EdgePoint’s founding management team, with the objective of growing a scalable regional towers platform, initially in Indonesia and Malaysia. To date, EdgePoint has secured more than 10,000 sites, according to the statement.

“As long standing partners, this agreement represents a continuation of DigitalBridge and Adia's collaboration, and underscores our mutual commitment to investing in digital infrastructure across the fast-growing southeast Asia region," Marc Ganzi, president and chief executive of DigitalBridge, said.

New York-listed DigitalBridge is a global digital infrastructure REIT investing in and operating businesses in the digital sector including towers, data centers, fiber, small cells, and edge infrastructure. The DigitalBridge team manages a $32 billion portfolio of digital infrastructure assets on behalf of its limited partners and shareholders. DigitalBridge is headquartered in Boca Raton with key offices in Los Angeles, New York, London and Singapore.