Keppel Corp: M1 deal suspended by IMDA

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Keppel Corp: M1 deal suspended by IMDA

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Keppel Corp

M1 deal suspended by IMDA

Maintain Rating: UNDERPERFORM | PO: 7.80 SGD | Price: 10.38 SGD

M1 deal suspension over spectrum questions 18 May 2026

On May 18, Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) suspended its Equity

review of Keppel's proposed S$1.4bn sales of M1 to Simba Telecom (owned by Tuas).

Jessie Lo >>

IMDA said it discovered during the review process that Simba may have used Research Analyst

unauthorized radio frequency bands to provide mobile services, potentially breaching Merrill Lynch (Singapore) jessie.lo@bofa.com

Singapore's telecommunications law and conditions tied to the company's facilities-

Mcrid Wang >>

based operations license. IMDA indicated this materially affects its assessment of the Research Analyst

proposed consolidation and any potential impact on competition, public interest, and Merrill Lynch (Singapore) mcrid.wang@bofa.com

cybersecurity. Keppel commented that it will allow the sales and purchase agreement

Donald Chua >>

(SPA) with Simba to lapse as extended long-stop-date (May 21, 2026) approaches. Research Analyst

Merrill Lynch (Singapore)

Focus shifted to efficiency improvement in near term donald.chua@bofa.com

Keppel had prepared a "Plan B" in case it retains majority ownership of M1 and said it

will begin executing a 90-day efficiency plan which involves reducing technology

platform and network costs and using AI for automation, aiming for run-rate EBITDA Stock Data

improvement. The proposed divestment of Keppel’s stake in M1 will be removed from Price 10.38 SGD

Keppel's announced monetization for 2025 and push back for 1-2 years. This translated Price Objective 7.80 SGD