SURABAYA, Indonesia-Following last year’s shareholding increase to 47.9 percent in Malaysia’s Celcom, government-owned telecommunication operator Telekom Malaysia offered US$1 billion to take over the rest of Celcom.
Celcom’s remaining major stakeholders include the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Tabung Haji, which account for a combined 20-percent stake; Deutsche Telekom which still holds 8 percent of Celcom’s shares; and institutional investors, which own 2 percent each.
Deutsche Telekom opposes the deal and wants 7 Malaysian ringgits (US$1.84) per share for a total 1.11 billion ringgits (US$29 million) for its Celcom shares.
Last year, Telekom Malaysia increased its stake in Celcom from 31.2 percent to 47.9 percent for 2.75 ringgits (US$0.72) per share for a total 1.684 billion ringgits (US$443 million) in a deal with Celcom.
If Deutsche Telekom finally exits the Malaysian market, it will be its second exit from Southeast Asia after quitting Indonesian’s cellular operator Satelindo last year.
