Bids for Singapore cellular phone operator, MobileOne, were less than hoped for.
According to a report by the Asian Wall Street Journal, bids by Malaysia's Maxis Communications and Regional Wireless, a joint venture between Telstra Corp and Pacific Century CyberWorks, came in close to US$1.2 billion each.
But "they were nowhere near what shareholders of M1 had hoped for", said an executive directly involved in the process.
He added negotiations so far had failed to produce any change in the situation.
Analysts had valued M1 at up to US$3 billion.
The four companies that own M1 said in April they were jointly putting all of the carrier's equity up for sale, but they have maintained that they would sell only at a reasonable price.
An executive at PCCW - which already owns 15 percent of M1, making it potentially both a seller and a buyer - said the negotiating process could continue for some time.
The other shareholders are Singapore firms Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation and Singapore Press Holdings, each of which hold 35 percent, and UK's Cable & Wireless, which has a 15.3 percent share.
When contacted, a spokeperson from Keppel Corp, one of the telco's shareholders, declined comment.
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