Warburg-Backed Evolution to Develop $300M Philippine Data Centre With Megawide

Evolution Data Centres is teaming with a local partner to build and operate a 69-megawatt data centre in the Philippines at a total project cost of $300 million, as the Warburg Pincus-backed firm targets digital infrastructure investments in Southeast Asia’s emerging markets.

Singapore-based Evolution and Megawide Construction Corp have agreed to develop the carrier-neutral data centre on a 4 hectare (9.9 acre) campus in Cavite, south of Manila, with an initial 23MW deployment by the end of 2024, the partners said in a release.

Under the terms of the deal, Evolution will hold a 51 percent interest in the project’s operating company and a 40 percent stake in the land holding company, with Megawide owning the remaining share capital, according to filings with the Philippine Stock Exchange.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Megawide to develop this innovative data centre in this exciting high-growth region,” said Evolution co-founder and CEO Darren Webb. “This project will deliver the very latest digital infrastructure to meet the needs of a growing, content-hungry population.”

First Step Into Digital

PSE-listed Megawide has a track record of developing public infrastructure projects, including Mactan-Cebu International Airport and the Clark International Airport New Passenger Terminal Building. The construction group controlled by chairman Edgar Saavedra is making its first investment in digital infrastructure through the partnership with Evolution.

“While we have focused on transport and social infrastructure in recent years, current technological advances have significantly changed everyday life,” said Jaime Feliciano, Megawide’s chief business development officer. “Digitalisation has greatly affected enterprises and consumers alike and data centres are at the very core of this new reality.”

Evolution was founded in 2021 and has deployed more than 640MW of capacity and led more than $1 billion in digital infrastructure transactions in Asia.

Last year it formed a joint venture with Warburg Pincus to develop hyperscale facilities throughout Southeast Asia, with the New York-based private equity firm committing capital to the JV from its Asia Real Estate Fund, which achieved a final closing of $2.8 billion in late 2021.

Answering Demand

The Philippines has witnessed a flurry of data centre deals in recent months as global investors look to tap demand driven by the island country’s 109-million-strong population.

In January, Manulife-backed Arch Capital Management launched Digital Halo, a venture aimed at building a regional digital infrastructure portfolio starting with a $500 million investment in the Philippines. The company’s first project is a 70MW data centre campus in Rizal, east of Manila.

Last October, EQT-backed EdgeConneX formed a joint venture with the infrastructure arm of Philippine conglomerate Aboitiz Group to develop and operate data centres across the island of Luzon. The JV is building a pair of Metro Manila facilities of at least 20MW each.

Also in October, YCO Cloud Centers broke ground on the first phase of a 32MW data centre campus south of Manila. The firm, a joint venture of local family office JJYnchausti Ventures and US-based CloudCenters, plans to pour $500 million into the country’s digital infrastructure space over the next three years.

Others making Philippine data centre investments in the past year include Hong Kong-based PAG’s Flow (with Ayala Land) and Singapore’s SpaceDC.