StarHub CEO Peter Kaliaropoulos has rejected rumours of a possible merger between his company and 5G bid partner M1, The Strait Times reports. Speaking during the firm’s virtual AGM on 22 May, Kaliaropoulos dismissed the suggestion and said that instead, StarHub will continue to work on growing its cyber security arm’s top and bottom lines, after Ensign InfoSecurity recorded its first quarterly profit in Q1 2020. Further, he said that despite the likely hit to profits arising from COVID-19, the group intends to ‘maintain a long-term view on business strategies and … continue to strike a balance between accelerating growth and enhancing profitability’. Kaliaropoulos stated clearly that it is ‘too early to share plans and forecasts before a full licence is awarded later this year’ and quashed the suggestion that StarHub is ‘angling for a merger with Keppel-owned M1’, stressing that while the two firms will shoulder the burden of a jont 5G rollout, they will ‘launch their own offerings and solutions for customers with separate go-to-market strategies’.
‘Mergers depend on market conditions, are subject to regulatory approvals, and (are) driven by value-creation requirements for stakeholders,’ he was cited as saying. ‘Beyond the 5G strategic collaboration, no intent or discussion of any kind is under way at this stage that may lead to a merger,’ he added.