Malaysian 5G network owner scraps stake sale to Telekom Malaysia

MALAYSIA’S sole 5G network owner Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) said it terminated a proposed 233 million ringgit (S$69.3 million) stake sale to Telekom Malaysia after the latter failed to meet necessary conditions to finalise the deal.

In a statement late Friday (Aug 23), DNB said that Telekom Malaysia was unable to obtain shareholder approval for the deal by the stipulated deadline on Aug 21, and had sought an extension until Dec 31. DNB said it decided not to extend the deadline, and terminated the deal on Friday.

In a separate filing, Telekom Malaysia said that it needed more time to organise an extraordinary shareholder meeting as the stake sale was a related party transaction. It said its wholesale service subscription with DNB remains in place.

DNB’s biggest shareholder is government-owned Ministry of Finance, which is also indirectly the biggest shareholder in Telekom Malaysia.

DNB said that following the cancellation, four mobile carriers collectively have a 65.1 per cent stake in the 5G network. The four are YTL Power International, U Mobile, Maxis, and CelcomDigi. They each have a stake of about 16.3 per cent, with Ministry of Finance owning the rest.

Malaysia previously said that it would start a tender process for a second 5G network as DNB’s 5G coverage has reached 80 per cent of all populated areas. BLOOMBERG