Global asset manager Keppel Ltd. today announced that its private investment vehicle Keppel Infrastructure Fund (KIF) and its co-investor have acquired a 100 per cent stake in UK-headquartered Global Marine Group (GMG), from investment affiliates of JF Lehman and Company.
Global Marine is one of the world’s largest independent subsea cable solutions providers and has the distinction of installing the first transatlantic undersea cable in the world and the first transatlantic fibre optic cable. It operates a fleet of six vessels that offers mission-critical maintenance and installation services for the global subsea fibre optic cable network.
This marks the first investment by Keppel’s flagship infrastructure fund, previously known as Keppel Asia Infrastructure Fund II.
Noting that the market for maintenance and installation services is poised to grow at about 45 per cent compound annual growth rate from 2023 to 2029, Keppel is confident that GMG is well-positioned to maintain its high fleet utilisation of close to 100 per cent, supporting long-term sustainable growth. This comes on the back of rising global demand for connectivity and the limited supply of specialised vessels, Keppel said in a statement.
Christina Tan, Keppel’s chief executive of fund management and the group’s chief investment officer, said: “With a substantial proportion of GMG’s business secured by long-term contracts with huge growth potential, especially in Asia, we are poised to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns to our investors.”
Noting that infrastructure deals such as GMG and the Bifrost Cable System are of a “global nature”, Keppel said KIF will continue to evaluate quality deals and platforms beyond Asia, should such opportunities arise.
The Bifrost Cable System is expected to be ready for commercial service in the second half of 2025. Spanning over 20,000 km, the Bifrost Cable System is the world’s first subsea cable system directly connecting Singapore to the west coast of North America via Indonesia through the Java Sea and Celebes Sea. Keppel is in a joint build agreement with Meta and Telin to own and develop the Bifrost Cable System. When fully commissioned, it will also be the largest capacity high-speed transmission cable across the Pacific Ocean. Keppel first embarked on the Bifrost system in March 2021 with its partners Meta and Telin. Bifrost is part of Keppel’s connectivity system, including power, green energy, cooling, subsea cable connectivity and data centre solutions.
