CK Hutchison has agreed with Ooredoo to extend the period of negotiations on a potential transaction to combine their respective subsidiaries Hutchison 3 Indonesia and Indosat, on an exclusive basis, until 30 June. Negotiations between the parties have been constructive but require more time to conclude, CK Hutchison said.
CK Hutchison also reports that no decision has been taken to proceed with any transaction, which remains subject to completion of satisfactory due diligence, agreement on terms, signing of definitive agreements and obtaining of all required corporate and regulatory approvals.
Similarly, Ooredoo said the extension would give more time to complete due diligence and negotiate the final terms of a possible combination of the entities. It emphasised that no decision has been taken to proceed with a transaction and there is no certainty over the scope or terms of any such deal. Any material developments will be announced in due course, said Ooredoo.
Ooredoo and CK Hutchison initially agreed to merge their mobile operators in Indonesia in December 2020. The exclusivity period for the memorandum of understanding was valid until 30 April 2021. Ooredoo then said the companies were still in the early stages of assessing the merits of the potential deal.
The merger is expected to help the two operators compete better against market leader Telkomsel. Indonesia counts in total five mobile operators; the other two are XL Axiata and Smartfren.
