By Yantoultra Ngui and Kane Wu

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) -KKR & Co and Singapore Telecommunications are in advanced talks to buy more than 80% of ST Telemedia Global Data Centres - which would give them full ownership - for over S$5 billion ($3.9 billion), two people with direct knowledge of the plans said.

KKR currently owns about 14% of the firm while Singtel, the city-state's biggest telecom operator, has a stake of more than 4%. The rest is held by ST Telemedia, which is wholly owned by Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings.

If successful, the deal would rank among Asia's biggest data centre transactions, with the boom in artificial intelligence creating soaring demand for digital infrastructure. KKR, ST Telemedia and ST Telemedia Global Data Centres declined to comment.

Singtel said in a stock exchange filing on Friday that it regularly reviews business opportunities and is in discussions as part of a consortium regarding ST Telemedia Global Data Centres.

There is no certainty the talks will lead to a binding agreement, it added, and advised investors to exercise caution in dealing with its securities.

KKR is leading the acquisition, according to one of the sources, but Reuters was not able to learn the separate investment amounts planned by the global investment firm and Singtel.

A deal could be struck before year-end, though final terms and the timeline could still shift, the same source said. The sources declined to be identified as the matter is private.

KKR and Singtel first invested S$1.75 billion in the data centre firm in June 2024.

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Singapore, ST Telemedia Global Data Centres describes itself as one of the world's fastest-growing data centre providers.

It operates more than 100 data centres with over 2 gigawatts of IT load across over 20 major markets, including Singapore, India and Japan, as well as Europe via its VIRTUS brand in the U.K, Germany and Italy, according to its website.

KKR's Asia Pacific infrastructure business, launched in 2019, has about $13 billion in assets under management. Recent deals include the acquisitions of Australian independent power producer Zenith Energy in June and poultry farming operator ProTen in July.