Telekom Malaysia (“TM”) today has officially announced a partnership with Green Packet Berhad, SK Telecom Co., Ltd and Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (“P1”) to develop the next generation communications services in the country. Subsequently, TM will be acquiring P1, which is a 57% unit in Green Packet.
The 57% stake is substantially more than was earlier speculated in the press, which was rumored to be around 30%.
The initial investment will be worth RM350 million and a further RM210 million will be injected into Green Packet in a form of redeemable exchangeable bonds. The total investment will be worth up to RM1.65 billion, over a span of one to three years.
P1 will thus officially operate as a subsidiary of TM.
TM’s investment will be a much welcomed boost for the cash-strapped P1 who will look into rolling out their 4G LTE services to its customers.
P1, founded in 2002, was the first company to launch a commercial WIMAX service in Malaysia.
P1 currently serves over 500,000 subscribers, with over 2,000 base stations covering 50% of the population in Malaysia.
For TM, this will be a fast track into the wireless space and the highly valuable 30Mhz in the 2.3Ghz band (WIMAX) and the 20Mhz of the 2.6Ghz band for 4G LTE.
TM will gain access to P1’s existing subscriber base and ready infrastructure.
SK Telecom, a strategic partner of P1, which also holds a 26% stake in P1, will be the technical partner in the deal.
Much has been speculated over the acquisition exercise since 2011, with DiGi and YTL reported to also be interested in the telco.
According to TM Group CEO, Tan Sri Zam, the partnership is in line’s with TM’s vision of being an Information Exchange and Malaysia’s Broadband Champion.
Header image by SoyaCincau.com
