ST Telemedia Sets Stage for Global Cloud-Focused Platform
Strategic investor makes majority-stake investment in U.S. CSP
Singapore-based ST Telemedia (STT), which invests in data centers, infrastructure technology, and communications and media businesses, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to take a controlling interest in 2nd Watch, a cloud service provider in Seattle.
The Lowdown: The transaction will accelerate 2nd Watch’s international expansion and allow the CSP to offer a broader set of infrastructure software solutions.
The Details: The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, will allow 2nd Watch to leverage STT’s complementary assets to build on its own service delivery. Meanwhile, the addition of 2nd Watch helps STT expand and strengthen its managed cloud service capabilities by combining 2nd Watch’s market-leading position in the United States with STT’s managed cloud service business in Asia.
Founded in 2010, 2nd Watch offers managed cloud services, including assessments, design, IT infrastructure management, and strategy consulting, to some of the world’s leading brands. The CSP, an AWS Partner Network Premier Consulting Partner and Microsoft Azure Gold Partner, has been placed in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Public Cloud Infrastructure Professional and Managed Service Worldwide for three consecutive years.
Existing shareholders of the company, including Columbia Capital, Delta-v Capital, Madrona Venture Group, and others, will retain a significant interest in the company.
Background: Over the past few years, STT has made significant investments in data centers and in AI-driven, cloud-centric businesses that focus on Big Data, customer digital experiences, cybersecurity, IT operations, and managed cloud services.
Data center M&A activity has picked up dramatically of late as more organizations seek to move data and workloads to the cloud and co-location facilities. According to Synergy Research Group, more than 300 data center M&A deals have closed since 2015 (50 since the beginning of this year), yielding an aggregate value of $65 billion-plus.
The Buzz: “ST Telemedia has extensive experience in helping companies accelerate their global scale and reach and successfully operate in multiple regions. We have been solidifying our capabilities across the cloud space and are excited to take a majority position in 2nd Watch,” said Stephen Miller, president and group CEO of STT. “Combining our infrastructure technology portfolio with our position in data centers, STT has a unique presence in the global cloud IT ecosystem to ignite adjacent growth across our portfolio.”
“The alignment of 2nd Watch with ST Telemedia will be one of the most significant events in our space to date,” said 2nd Watch CEO Doug Schneider. “This partnership will allow us to continue to provide world-class services to our existing clients and also provide us the fuel to expand our services across the globe under the 2nd Watch brand. Customers truly benefit because it provides greater options worldwide for service delivery from our team of experts.”
