Bain-Backed Bridge Data Centres Buying Malaysia Site From IOI Properties for $188M

Bain Capital-backed Bridge Data Centres has agreed to buy three plots near Kuala Lumpur from Malaysia’s IOI Properties Group for MYR 740.7 million ($187.7 million).

The deal for the land at IOI Industrial Park in Banting, southwest of the capital, was signed on 29 January, according to a Thursday LinkedIn post. 

“We are pleased to announce that Bridge Data Centres has acquired 136.03 acres (55.05 hectares) to further expand their data centre business model and this shows the confidence of our clientele towards IOIPG’s industrial parks,” said IOI Properties Group CEO Lee Yeow Seng.

The acquisition comes as Bain is reportedly considering fresh backers for Singapore-based Bridge to help it raise cash and expand. Bridge said last month that it would close in on 700 megawatts of operating capacity at its existing hyperscale campuses in Malaysia and Thailand this year, with additional phases and infrastructure being built to meet rising AI-driven demand.

Expansion Plans

Last March, Bridge secured $2.8 billion in bank financing to grow its network, aiming to use some of the debt capital to extend beyond its home market of Southeast Asia. Chief investment officer Kevin Guan told MTD TV in September that Bridge hoped to add “two or three more” countries to its portfolio beyond Malaysia, Thailand and India. 

In an interview last month with the Wall Street Journal, Bridge CEO Eric Fan revealed that the company was targeting expansion into the Middle East, Australia and Japan. Fan said Bridge was assessing opportunities and exploring tie-ups with firms in the energy and infrastructure industries.

Bridge has invested $2 billion in Malaysia and aims to nearly double its data centre capacity across Malaysia, Thailand and India by mid-2027, Fan told the newspaper.

With its other investors including Singapore’s Keppel Ltd and South Korea’s SK Group, Bridge currently operates 400MW of capacity and expects the total to rise to roughly 700MW as additional facilities begin operations, according to the chief executive.

Foreign-Led Surge

Malaysia in 2025 saw the approval of MYR 255.5 billion ($64.7 billion) in data centre and cloud investments, according to a Knight Frank report released this week.

The Klang Valley surrounding Kuala Lumpur accounted for MYR 177 billion, making it the country’s largest digital cluster, the consultancy said in the whitepaper titled Malaysia as a Regional Digital Economy Gateway. The southern hub of Johor recorded MYR 40.3 billion, almost entirely hyperscale investments.

“Investment is predominantly foreign-led, driven by hyperscale campus developments in Johor and Klang Valley, while local firms participate more actively in cloud service provision,” Knight Frank said.