THIS time, it might just work. Telenor ASA and Axiata Group Bhd
. are back at the negotiating table. Joining forces in South and Southeast Asia still makes sense for both carriers.
Options including a mooted minority investment from Norway’s $27 billion telecoms heavyweight could be enough to get them started, with sales and spinoffs to follow.
Talks for a potential deal resumed just four months after the parties scrapped discussions to create a combined entity with some 300 million customers in the region, Elffie Chew and Manuel Baigorri of Bloomberg News reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter.
This time they may start small, with Telenor buying part of the nearly 37% stake held by Axiata’s largest shareholder, Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd.
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