Digital Edge CEO John Freeman (Image: Digital Edge)
Digital Edge has agreed to buy a Johor industrial site for MYR 346.5 million ($87.3 million), marking the Stonepeak-backed data centre firm’s first known land purchase in Malaysia as it positions for expansion in one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing digital infrastructure markets.
The Singapore-based company is acquiring a 49.7 acre (20.1 hectare) freehold plot in Johor’s Kota Tinggi district from Crescendo Corporation, according to a stock filing by the Malaysian builder controlled by the Gooi family of Kim Loong palm oil fame. The site, located within Bandar Cemerlang Industrial Park, is designated for data centre use and is being acquired on a vacant possession basis.
Digital Edge plans to develop and operate a data centre on the site, subject to approvals and utility connections, including power arrangements. The transaction is expected to conclude by the second half of 2027, with Crescendo retaining responsibility for delivering roads, drainage, fibre routes and water infrastructure tied to the project.
The Johor acquisition provides the clearest sign yet of Digital Edge’s entry into Malaysia, following years of signalling interest in the market without publicly announcing a specific project. Digital Edge had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
From Strategy to Execution
Digital Edge identified Malaysia as a target market in a January 2025 announcement of $1.6 billion in fresh equity and debt financing, but the company has yet to disclose any development pipeline locally.
Crescendo Corporation chairman and managing director Gooi Seong Lim (Image: Kim Loong Resources)
The Johor land purchase now points to a move from strategy to execution, with the company led by CEO John Freeman joining a list of regional and global operators expanding in the southern Malaysian state, where live data centre capacity more than doubled to 897 megawatts in 2025, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
That growth has been driven by a wave of large-scale projects in locations like Sedenak Tech Park and Nusajaya, with operators building campuses designed for hyperscale and artificial intelligence workloads.
Recent activity has included Princeton Digital Group advancing a major Johor campus, while AirTrunk has also been expanding its footprint in Johor, alongside moves by Equinix and other international operators seeking to capture spillover demand from Singapore.
Microsoft has acquired at least four land plots in the state, including from Crescendo, further underpinning demand for capacity in Johor’s fast-growing cluster.
Regional Drive
The Malaysia move comes as Digital Edge accelerates expansion across Asia Pacific, targeting hyperscale and AI-driven demand.
In Indonesia, the company is developing a $4.5 billion Greater Jakarta campus, one of the largest projects of its kind in the region, supported by green financing and project-level funding.
In Thailand, Digital Edge and partner B.Grimm Power broke ground on a 100MW campus in the Eastern Economic Corridor last September, extending the platform’s reach into another high-growth Southeast Asian market.
The company’s 2025 fundraising is backing expansion across key markets including Japan, South Korea, India and Southeast Asia. With its Johor land acquisition, Digital Edge appears to be adding Malaysia to that roster, tooling up for growth in a market rapidly becoming a regional hub for data centre investment.
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