Singtel confirms Optus stake-sale talks as regulatory pressure mounts

Singapore Singtel did not disclose which parties it is speaking with. The Optus logo is displayed outside a store in Sydney, Australia, on Sep 29, 2025. (File photo: Reuters/Hollie Adams) 30 Jul 2026 09:51AM (Updated: 30 Jul 2026 09:53AM) Singtel on Thursday (Jul 30) confirmed that it was in discussions with multiple parties over a potential stake sale in its Australian telecoms unit Optus, but said there was no certainty the talks would result in a deal.Optus, Australia's second-largest telecommunications provider, has been owned by Singtel since 2001.The company did not say which parties it is speaking with.Optus is one of Singtel’s largest overseas investments. In the financial year ending in March 2026. Optus generated about A$8.35 billion (US$5.8 billion) in operating revenue for Singtel, accounting for around half of the group's total revenue. This was up from the previous year, when Optus generated A$8.2 billion in revenue.In May, Singtel said it was open to bringing in an Australian minority partner for Optus. Reuters reported in 2024 that Singtel was in advanced talks to sell a significant stake in Optus to Brookfield Asset Management, although the company denied a deal was imminent. REGULATORY HEADWINDSThe telecom services provider is under heightened scrutiny following two outages involving Australia's emergency call service that affected thousands of users and were linked to four deaths. The incidents led to the departure of two senior executives, including its finance chief.Australia's communications regulator said on Thursday it had launched Federal Court proceedings against Optus Mobile over the September 2025 outage, one of the incidents that drew criticism of the telecom provider.The Australian Communications and Media Authority has alleged Optus breached two legal obligations on 1,005 occasions during the outage by failing to provide access to the emergency call service and ensuring these calls were carried to the relevant termination point.The regulator is seeking penalties of up to A$250,000 per contravention.Singtel and Optus did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on the stake-sale discussions or the ACMA proceedings.