Keppel Corporation and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) have confirmed their ‘firm intention’ to push ahead with a SGD2.06 (USD1.52) per share general offer for the remaining shares that they do not own in Singaporean mobile operator M1, via joint venture company Konnectivity Ltd which is majority owned by Keppel. As previously reported by CommsUpdate, on 27 September 2018 sources said that Keppel Corp subsidiary Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation (Keppel T&T), which owns 19.23% of M1, and SPH, which holds 13.38%, would launch their bid, subject to the pre-condition of approval from the industry regulator, the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA). That pre-condition has reportedly been satisfied and the pair are understood to have approached M1’s largest shareholder, Malaysia’s Axiata Group, concerning a possible deal. The Malaysian carrier currently controls a roughly 28.54% stake in M1.
Local press note that the offer will become unconditional when Konnectivity and parties it is working in conjunction with obtain more than 50% of the issued share capital of M1 by the close of the offer. SPH hopes to transform M1 and to leverage the telco’s mobile platform to offer on-demand digital content. SPH Management said that the transaction is ‘earnings-accretive based on pro forma historical performance’.