SLT denies first; then confirms Mobitel is dialling Hutch!
Tuesday, 28 January 2014 00:39
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Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) in a filing to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) released yesterday confirmed that its fully-owned subsidiary SLT Mobitel is indeed in negotiation with Hutchinson Asia Telecom about a possible acquisition of Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka Ltd.
SLT’s confirmation comes a day after it denied that it was negotiating with Hutch.
News about talks to acquire Hutch was first reported by the Daily FT last Friday http://www.ft.lk/2014/01/24/slt-dialling-hutch/). The FT story focused on SLT since Mobitel is a 100% subsidiary.
However, SLT in its second filing said that negotiations are at present at a preliminary stage, the final decision being dependent on the completion of a confirmatory due diligence and parties agreeing on terms and conditions of the transaction and securing regulatory approval thereafter.
“SLT assures its shareholders and the public that they will be kept duly informed of the transaction in the event of a definite decision is reached by the parties,” the filing to the CSE added.
The Daily FT article speculated that SLT Group and Hutch are negotiating a deal worth $ 115 million.
