(May 22): Tuas Ltd’s planned US$1.1 billion acquisition of Singapore major telecom operator M1 Ltd has collapsed days after regulators halted their review of the transaction.
Tuas said the agreement was terminated after several conditions were not met by a May 21 deadline, according to a filing on Friday. The Australian-listed company said its subsidiary Simba continues to cooperate with the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s (IMDA) investigation into potential breaches of its Singapore licence.
IMDA on Monday halted its review of the proposed combination after learning that Simba may have used radio frequency bands that were not assigned to it to provide mobile services.
Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, the city-state’s largest telecom operator, is seeking clarification on whether it can bid for M1, chief executive officer Yuen Kuan Moon said at a press briefing on Thursday.
Keppel Ltd, which controls about 83.9% of M1, noted on Monday that it has no plans to extend the deadline and will implement a 90-day “Plan B” focused on improving M1’s efficiency by rightsizing the telco company and reducing costs.
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