Singtel to divest majority stake in NetLink NBN Trust

In a filing on Monday (10 July) Singtel Group announced that it has struck a unit purchase agreement with the trustee-manager of NetLink NBN Trust – the company tasked with designing, building, owning and operating the country’s next generation broadband network (Next Gen NBN) – to divest its 100% stake in NetLink Trust on the listing date for an aggregate consideration of SGD1.9 billion (USD1.37 billion). The transaction is made up of ‘a cash consideration of SGD1.1 billion, as well as consideration units constituting approximately 24.99% stake in NetLink NBN Trust, which was established primarily for the purpose of owning all of the units of NetLink Trust’. Upon completion of the process, Singtel’s 24.99% stake in NetLink NBN Trust will be indirectly held via its 100% owned subsidiary, Singtel Interactive. The IPO fulfils Singtel’s undertaking to the regulator, the Info-communication Media Development Authority (IMDA), to reduce its stake in the Next Gen NBN company to less than 25% before 22 April 2018.