Jan 28, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom whose main shareholders are Sri Lanka’s goverment and Malaysia’s UT group said its mobile unit was in talks with Hutchison to acquire its operations in the island. SLT said in a stock exchange filing that negotiations are at a “preliminary stage” with a final decision to be made after a “confirmatory due diligence” and regulatory approval.
Sri Lanka’s mobile sector now has five players with Malaysia Axiata having the largest share, Sri Lanka Telecom’s Mobitel unit, Etisalat, Hutchison and India’s Airtel.
Airtel is also reported to be negotiating an exit.