Could Axiata turn out to be M1's buyer?

It currently holds 28.5% stake in the telco.

M1's valuation is likely to be at a good premium given the controlling block of up to 61% put up for sale by its major shareholders, RHB says in a report.

According to the brokerage firm, Axiata Group, Keppel Telecommunications and Singapore Press Holdings hold a respective 28.5%, 19.2%, and 13.4% stake in the telco.

"We understand the three shareholders would consider exiting en-bloc, although there is a provision for an individual shareholder to consider a unilateral divestment," RHB said, noting that decision would be made by 3Q17.

RHB notes that Axiata could also turn buyer of M1 if it is not able to garner a good price for its stake. Axiata's book value in M1 is approximately $520m.

Reaching the people who run Asia's businesses is harder than it used to be.

Inboxes are crowded. Attention is short. The executives you most want to reach — the founders, CFOs, and operators who actually move budgets — are the hardest to find through the usual channels. If you're building a company, a category, or a reputation, you already know this.

We've spent twenty years building the room they read. Singapore Business Review is where senior decision makers in Singapore and across Southeast Asia come for business coverage they can't get elsewhere — in print, online, and in person at the summits and roundtables we host across seven markets.

If you have something these readers should know about — a point of view worth publishing, a product worth their attention, an event worth their time — we'd like to hear what you're trying to do.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia