Singapore Telecommunications has confirmed that takeover talks are still ongoing with Australian phone company Cable & Wireless Optus.
"An announcement will be made these few days...probably after the stock market closes," a SingTel spokesperson said.
She was responding to reports in Australia which said that SingTel had failed to secure an agreement over the weekend from Optus' controlling shareholder, Cable & Wireless, which owns 52.5 percent of C&W Optus.
SingTel is believed to have offered about AU$4.60 per share in cash and stock for Optus, according to a March 9 Dow Jones report. The value of the deal - expected to give SingTel control over Australia's second-largest mobile phone company - is estimated at AU$17.5 billion.
Competing bidders for Optus' assets are Vodaphone and Telecom NZ.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg has reported that SingTel is offering a 17 percent stake in the local telco to Optus' shareholders as part of the bid, a banker familiar with the plan said.
SingTel intends to offer AU$2.25 in cash and about 0.82 of its shares for an Optus share, the banker noted. SingTel would also issue about 3.09 billion new shares, lowering the Singapore government's holding in the former to 65 percent from the current 78 percent, the banker added.
Last Wednesday, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in Parliament that the government is willing to reduce its stake in SingTel significantly in the "medium term." Lee did not provide a timeframe.
Analysts believe that the Singapore government's decision would likely help SingTel in its bid for Optus.
