COMPANIES & FINANCE ASIA-PACIFIC: MobileOne sale reaches impasse NEWS DIGEST:
Financial Times, Jun 8, 2001
By REUTERS: AGENCY MATERIAL
The sale of MobileOne (M1), Singapore's second cellular operator, has reached an impasse as shareholders face bids that are not up to their expectations, sources close to the deal said yesterday.
"It is all a question of price. If it is not good enough, there will be no sale. There is no pressure on the shareholders to sell," a source familiar with the sale said.
M1 has been put up for sale by tender with an unofficial floor price of USDollars 1.2bn by partners Singapore Press Holdings, Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation, Cable & Wireless and Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCCW).
Telecoms insiders said M1, which has a subscriber base of 881,000, is profitable and would be able to fund its own expansion.
The tender attracted only two bids when it closed last month - one from Malaysia's unlisted Maxis Telecommunications and another from Regional Wireless, a 60:40 joint venture between Australia's Telstra Corp and PCCW.
Sources said the Malaysian bid, which was slightly higher, might face problems in getting through the Singapore regulator.
The bid from the camp led by PCCW, which was in the unique position of being both potential seller and buyer, did not meet the sale price of USDollars 1.2bn. Reuters, Singapore Copyright: The Financial Times Limited
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