(Reuters) -Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel), Southeast Asia’s biggest telecom operator, repeated on Wednesday that there was no “upcoming offer” to divest its Australian telecom system Optus. Singtel, bulk owned by Singapore sovereign financier Temasek, in March rejected an AFR report that it was unloading Optus to Canada’s Brookfield for as much as $12 billion. Reuters had actually reported that the business remained in innovative talks over a “considerable” stake sale to Brookfield, mentioning an individual with direct understanding of the matter. Shares of Singtel were down 3.15% at S$ 2.46 on Wednesday before trading was stopped pending a statement. The stop was positioned after several reports stated talks had actually ended for Singtel to divest a 20% stake in Optus as the celebrations were not able to settle on particular terms including the evaluation and rate element of the possible deal. Singtel’s Singaporean operations and Optus represent half of its company, according to its yearly report. The rest is comprised of minority stakes in numerous telecom operators consisting of India’s Bharti Airtel, Indonesia’s Telkomsel and the Philippines’ Globe Telecom. “The group wishes to encourage investors of Singtel and prospective financiers to work out care in their evaluation of any media reports connecting to Optus in the lack of any conclusive statements when handling the shares of the business,” Singtel stated in a declaration. In November, Optus drew public ire after a 12-hour network blackout impacted more than 10 million Australians. The event triggered an examination, the departure of then Optus CEO and an A$ 1.5 million ($977,100.00) fine. ($1 = 1.5352 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters.
Singtel Confirms No Intention to Divest Australian Telco Optus – U.S. News & World Report
