Singapore M1's Big Shareholders Decide Against Prospect of Selling Stakes

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--Singapore telecommunications company M1 Ltd.'s (B2F.SG) three biggest shareholders, who collectively hold about 60% of the company, are now set against the prospect of selling their stakes, the companies said Tuesday.

In a local exchange filing, Malaysian mobile-phone operator Axiata Group Bhd. (6888.KU)--M1's largest shareholder--said it and Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. (T39.S) and Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation Ltd. (K11.SG) "have decided not to proceed further with the strategic review" of the possible divestments.

Axiata said that the three companies considered proposals from interested parties but that they didn't meet the companies' criteria.

SPH, Keppel Telecommunications and M1 issued similar statements about the decision Tuesday.

M1, which has a market value of about 1.94 billion Singapore dollars (US$1.42 billion), is Singapore's smallest telecom company.

Axiata holds a stake in M1 of slightly more than 28%, Keppel Telecommunications holds around 20% and SPH has about 13%, according to stock-exchange data.

Separately, M1 said in a Singapore exchange filing Tuesday that its net profit for the second quarter fell 21%, largely because of higher operating expenses. The company said it expects a decline in after-tax net profit for the full year.

Write to Yantoultra Ngui at yantoultra.ngui@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 18, 2017 07:30 ET (11:30 GMT)