Keppel Infrastructure Trust Acquires 46.7% Stake in Subsea Cable Company Global Marine for $90.6 Million

Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT) to Acquire Approximately 46.7% Stake in Global Marine Group (GMG) for Around US$90.6 Million

Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT) will acquire approximately 46.7% of the shares in leading subsea cable solutions provider Global Marine Group (GMG) for around US$90.6 million, its manager announced on Tuesday (April 1).

The equity will be acquired from KIT's trustee-manager, Keppel Infrastructure Fund (KIF), which has held 100% of GMG's equity since its acquisition in early March 2025. After the acquisition, the remaining 53.3% interest will be held by KIF and its co-investors.

The total investment amount of US$90.6 million includes an approximately US$86.6 million subscription consideration and an approximately US$3.9 million listing fee as part of the standard settlement mechanism. The listing fee is intended to compensate KIF for the time value of capital and opportunity cost since its initial acquisition in early March.

The trust expects the acquisition to increase the distribution per unit by 3.5% on a forecast basis, from S$0.039 to S$0.0404. The net asset value per unit is not expected to change. The net debt-to-equity ratio is expected to increase by 3 percentage points, from 40.4% on a forecast basis to 41.6%.

GMG's business is to provide mission-critical maintenance and installation services for subsea cable infrastructure. KIT hopes to leverage Keppel's operational capabilities in the connectivity space to unlock value for GMG.

For example, Keppel's recent efforts to develop the 20,000-kilometer Bifrost cable system, the first subsea cable to connect Singapore and the west coast of North America via Indonesia, demonstrate the company's expertise in this area, the manager said.

In addition, strong market fundamentals are driving global demand for subsea cable connectivity, with increasing data consumption and rapid expansion in the adoption of cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence. Strong investments by global technology leaders and government-led digitalization efforts further drive demand for digital infrastructure capacity, the manager said.

Kevin Neo, CEO of Keppel Infrastructure Fund Management, said: "The proposed acquisition of a 46.7% stake in GMG is in line with KIT's strategy to tap into growth opportunities in digital infrastructure, supported by the long-term growth trend of increasing global digitalization."

KIT's manager said the investment will be funded by a combination of internal funds and external borrowings.

GMG operates a fleet of six specialized vessels for subsea cable infrastructure services. Globally, there are only 54 such specialized vessels in the industry, and significant capital investment is required to enter the market. GMG owns 31% of the global subsea cable length, with installed length accounting for approximately 20% of the cumulative installed length. KIT's share price closed at S$0.425 on Friday, up 1.2%.