South Korea's SK Telecom Establishes New AI Data Center Subsidiary, Secures $2.2 Billion in Funding

en.Wedoany.com Reported - SK Telecom has announced the spin-off of its AI data center and submarine cable assets into a new subsidiary, SK Horizon, while attracting approximately $2.2 billion in external funding to accelerate its AI infrastructure expansion. The operator plans to split its wholly owned subsidiary SK Broadband into two entities: the surviving SK Broadband will continue to focus on fixed-line, media, and enterprise services, while SK Horizon will take over the AI data center and submarine cable businesses. The spin-off is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year, subject to shareholder and government approvals.

In addition to the business restructuring, SK Telecom has secured a total of 3.08 trillion Korean won (approximately $2.2 billion) in equity financing from funds managed by KKR and the IMM Investment-Stonebridge consortium. Upon completion of the transaction, SK Telecom will hold a 51% stake in SK Horizon, with KKR and the IMM consortium holding 29% and 20%, respectively.

SK Horizon will expand its AI data center capacity to 318 megawatts, encompassing eight operational facilities located at sites including Seocho, Ilsan, Bundang, Gasan, Centum, Yangju, and Pangyo, as well as new AI data centers currently under construction in Ulsan and Guro. The company also plans to progressively expand its submarine cable infrastructure to support the transmission demands of global AI workloads.

This spin-off follows SK Telecom's launch of SK Hyper in July this year, which is primarily responsible for developing new AI data center projects.