Baker McKenzie advises Ooredoo Group on USD800 million investment in AI platform Zankore

Baker McKenzie has advised Ooredoo Group on its strategic investment in Zankore, a dedicated AI compute and neocloud platform together with Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH), NVIDIA and Nokia.

The transaction marks Ooredoo Group’s entry into the rapidly growing AI compute sector. As lead investor, Ooredoo will commit approximately USD800 million to support the platform’s launch and initial development, securing a 49 per cent stake in the venture.

Zankore is designed to deliver full-stack AI capabilities to meet growing demand for AI infrastructure across Southeast Asia. The platform is targeting 1 GW of NVIDIA DSX AI Factory capacity and will initially be developed in Indonesia before expanding across the region.

The investment builds on Ooredoo’s established digital infrastructure portfolio, which spans connectivity, international fibre and subsea cable infrastructure, and AI-ready data centres. Through Zankore, Ooredoo is extending its digital infrastructure strategy into AI compute, further expanding its presence across digital infrastructure and emerging technology sectors.

The Baker McKenzie team advised on all aspects of the transaction. The cross-border team was led by Dubai Corporate partner Adnan Doha, supported by corporate team members Piya Haria (senior associate, Abu Dhabi), Kirstie Trup (senior associate, Dubai), Razan Obeidat (associate, Dubai), Ololade Odunubi (associate, Dubai), and Marwa AlGhawi (trainee, Abu Dhabi).

The transaction drew on expertise of lawyers from across Baker McKenzie’s global network and multiple practice areas, including corporate, trade and export controls, finance and IP technology teams in the United States, London, Singapore  and Indonesia , namely: Janet Kim (partner, Washington, DC), Adhika Paramartha Sajjana Wiyoso (partner, Jakarta), Aaron Jones (Local principal, Singapore), Sanil Khatri (local principal, Singapore), Xiao Hui Ting (principal, Singapore), Mark Tay (principal, Singapore), Simone Blackadder (of counsel, Sydney), Chaya Gupta (senior associate, Dubai), Michael Amberg (senior associate, London), Devinka Adira (associate, Jakarta), and Marcus Dee (trainee, Singapore).

Commenting on the transaction, Adnan Doha, partner at Baker McKenzie, said, “This transaction brings together some of the world’s leading investors, technology providers and infrastructure experts to support the next phase of AI-driven growth in Southeast Asia. The scale of the investment reflects the increasing importance of AI infrastructure globally, and we are delighted to have supported Ooredoo on this strategically important transaction.”

The Ooredoo legal team was led by Georges Abi Saab, group general counsel. He commented, “This transaction marks an important milestone in Ooredoo’s digital infrastructure strategy and reflects our commitment to investing in the technologies and platforms that will underpin future growth. Zankore brings together leading partners with complementary capabilities, creating a strong foundation for the development of AI infrastructure in one of the world’s most dynamic digital markets. Baker McKenzie delivered exceptional support throughout the transaction, bringing together a multidisciplinary team across multiple jurisdictions to navigate the complex legal, regulatory and commercial issues inherent in a project of this scale and strategic importance.”

Thomas Chevanne, group chief strategy and M&A officer at Ooredoo Group, added, “This investment reflects Ooredoo’s disciplined approach to pursuing growth opportunities that align with our long-term strategy. Through Zankore, we are expanding our digital infrastructure portfolio into AI compute while gaining exposure to a market with significant long-term growth potential. We believe the platform is well positioned to support increasing demand for AI and cloud services across Southeast Asia.”

FTI acted as financial adviser to Ooredoo Group.