Ekuinas invests RM44m in web hosting firm Exabytes

In a statement yesterday, Ekuinas CEO Syed Yasir Arafat Syed Abd Kadir(filepic) said FVG

KUALA LUMPUR: Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas) has bought a 40% stake in web hosting and cloud service provider, Exabytes Capital Group for RM44mil as it seeks a slice of the US$3.5 trillion global internet economy.

Ekuinas, a government-linked private equity fund management company, said on Monday it has an an option to increase the stake in Exabytes up to 54%.  This is Ekuinas’ second investment in technology services company.

Launched in 2001, Exabytes is a multi-market web hosting company in Southeast Asia and serves more than 100,000 customers ranging from individuals, small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), public listed companies and government agencies.

Exabytes was founded on the principle of helping SMEs grow their businesses online. Today, the Company is a market leader in Malaysia and is on track to becoming one of the largest players in Southeast Asia for web hosting and cloud services.

Ekuinas CEO Syed Yasir Arafat Syed Abd Kadir said the investment in Exabytes was to  broaden its footprint in the services industry. 

“True to our mandate, we are investing in and nurturing high-potential local companies that are ready to scale and compete regionally, if not globally. Exabytes is a prime example of a company that has the platform to be a regional leader that can position Malaysia as a hub for business and talent. 

“Through Exabytes, Ekuinas will be able to capitalise on the booming internet economy globally, which is currently valued at US$3.5 trillion,” Syed Yasir Arafat said.

He said Exabytes is a dominant player in three markets and has delivered consistent historical financial performance and customer growth every year. 

“Given its strong, experienced and founder-led senior management team, we are confident that Exabytes will continue on its growth trajectory with the global market for hosting expected to grow at 9% annually driven by increasing internet penetration and digitalisation of businesses,” he said. 

With a market share of nearly 30% in Malaysia and 18-year track record of strong service, Exabytes is expected to scale especially with the growth of the industry. 

Over the last three years, Exabytes has been rapidly expanding regionally through merger and acquisitions (M&A) which enables Exabytes to grow its business in different segments in the respective markets. 

Exabyters founder and CEO Kee Siak Chan with the support from Ekuinas, it looked forward to accelerate its plans to continue building the company and advancing our business into new markets across the Southeast Asian region. 

“We will be leveraging on our brand premium, especially in Indonesia to drive customer acquisition through marketing and upselling higher value services, as well as expanding our capabilities and offerings into cloud and digital marketing to further beef up our end-to-end web solutions,” he said.