Optus is Australia’s second-largest telecommunications group and has been owned by Singtel since 2001. Singtel previously acquired Optus for $11 billion.
Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) is said to be in advanced discussions to fully divest its Australian arm Optus, to Toronto-headquartered private equity giant Brookfield for A$16 billion ($14 billion), according to Australian Financial Review (AFR). However, Singtel issued an announcement on March 13 to say that there is "no impending deal to offload Optus for the said sum".
"Optus remains an integral and strategic part of the Singtel and we are committed to Australia for the long term. Our current focus has been on improving network resilience and conducting a CEO search," says Singtel in its announcement, adding that the group regularly conducts strategic reviews of its portfolio to optimise the value of its assets and businesses and will explore all options to maximise shareholder value.
