Australia's Telstra: No Comment On Singapore's MobileOne
Updated: Monday, May 28, 2001 03:13 AM ET
SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--Telstra Corp. (TLS, news, msgs), Australia's largest telecommunications company, declined to comment Monday on its bid for MobileOne Asia Pte. Ltd., Singapore's second-ranked mobile telephone company.
The chairman of Hong Kong-based Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd. (PCW, news, msgs), Richard Li, confirmed Friday that Regional Wireless Co., a joint venture with Telstra, will bid for MobileOne.
Li told reporters after PCCW's annual general meeting that Regional Wireless would bid for MobileOne but that the bid will be subject to approval by Telstra, which holds 60% of the joint venture.
"We've got no comment on this," a Telstra spokeswoman said, though noting that the bidding process may take some time.
Australian telecommunications analysts generally put the value of privately held MobileOne at US$1.1 billion to US$1.2 billion.
"I'd lose confidence if Telstra cut a deal above US$1.3 billion," said one Sydney-based analyst, who asked not to be identified.
MobileOne's shareholders recently announced plans to sell their stake in the company. Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation Ltd. (P.KTT, news, msgs) and Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. (P.SPH, news, msgs) each hold 35% stakes. The remaining 30% is jointly held by U.K.-based Cable & Wireless PLC (CWP, news, msgs) and PCCW.
Telstra closed up 6 cents at A$6.55 Monday, and was the heaviest traded blue-chip stock after 20.1 million shares changed hands. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.2% to 3420.1 points.
-By Graham Morgan, Dow Jones Newswires;
61-2-8235-2962; graham.morgan@dowjones.com
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