This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on February 16, 2026 - February 22, 2026

MAXIS Bhd (KL:MAXIS) is understood to have held high-level negotiations with shareholders of U Mobile Sdn Bhd in a bid to take over the latter, but talks are said to have stalled as a result of the high price tag, two sources with knowledge of the companies tell The Edge on condition of anonymity.

It is understood that the negotiations have hit a brick wall as U Mobile’s shareholders are asking for RM14 billion, the two separate sources reveal. It is not clear if the offer to U Mobile’s shareholders involves cash or shares, or a mix of both.

Both Maxis and U Mobile did not respond to questions from The Edge.

A source familiar with Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd, the vehicle of the late billionaire Tatparanandam Ananda Krishnan that controls 62.24% of Maxis, confirmed that there had been talks between Maxis and U Mobile, and that negotiations had stalled.

“It was an issue with pricing. Talks have stalled for about four months now. The asking price is too crazy,” he says.

“Even DNB (Digital Nasional Bhd, which was given the mandate to deploy the first 5G network in Malaysia) is not doing well, so the RM14 billion price tag is unjustified.”

For its financial year ended December 2024, DNB suffered an after-tax loss of RM1.21 billion from RM341.17 million in revenue. As at end-December 2024, it had total assets of RM4.67 billion and total liabilities of RM6.42 billion. Its accumulated losses amounted to RM3.16 billion.

On whether the talks could be revived, the source declines to speculate.

A chat with a senior official of U Mobile elicited a surprised response, suggesting he was unaware of such talks. Of course, U Mobile’s shareholders would be the ones deciding on whether or not to sell the company, with management likely kept in the loop.

The company’s shareholders could not be reached for comment.

U Mobile’s key shareholders are Singapore’s Straits Mobile Investments Pte Ltd (48.26%), the King of Malaysia Sultan Ibrahim (22.31%) and Tan Sri Vincent Tan, whose vehicles — which include U Telemedia Sdn Bhd, Singer (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and Berjaya Infrastructure Sdn Bhd — hold a cumulative 13.66% of U Mobile.

Small but notable shareholders include Magnum Bhd (KL:MAGNUM) with 7.84%, Tan Sri Koon Poh Keong of Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd (KL:PMETAL) with 2.35% and Tan Sri Lim Kuang Sia of Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd (KL:KOSSAN) with 1.41%.

News of Maxis buying U Mobile has been circulating in the market since mid-2024, with the price highlighted as being an issue. However, Tan reportedly said U Mobile was rejecting Maxis’ offer and was considering an initial public offering (IPO).

In early November 2024, U Mobile was chosen to spearhead the deployment of the country’s second 5G network. The letter of award for the deployment was given at end-March 2025.

This sparked speculation that Maxis would buy up some or all of Straits Mobile Investments’ stake in U Mobile, a move that would reduce its foreign shareholding and was aligned with U Mobile’s commitment to ensuring greater domestic control in a national strategic asset.

Meanwhile, opinions on whether the RM14 billion price tag is high differ.

U Mobile’s bargaining chip is its appointment by the government to deploy the second 5G network to encourage competition.

The second source says Maxis had come up with an offer of RM12 billion, up from an earlier RM10 billion, but U Mobile shareholders such as Tan rejected it.

Tan’s valuation is supported by his plans for an IPO, which is slated to take place this year. In May last year, The Edge reported that U Mobile had appointed CIMB Investment Bank to assist in an IPO, which was slated to take place this year and could value the company at between RM11 billion and RM12 billion.

“Hence, his price tag of RM14 billion is not without merit, and is based on the IPO findings,” the second source adds.

Tan believes that if U Mobile can obtain such valuations from the potential IPO, Maxis should be paying an amount that is in the same region.

A banking source says Maxis sought a request for proposal from banks on the potential merger with U Mobile. However, when asked two weeks ago, Maxis said, “We have not issued a request for proposal to banks on this matter.”

A number of bankers The Edge spoke to were not surprised by Maxis’ plan but maintained that they had not received any instruction from the telco to crunch the numbers.

There are other reasons that could prove to be persuasive, such as U Mobile’s potential partners being on friendly terms with Maxis. In April 2025, U Mobile picked China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp as its technology partners for the second 5G network. Both companies have had dealings with Maxis before.

Maxis, meanwhile, has shares in DNB, along with YTL Power International Bhd (KL:YTLPOWR), CelcomDigi Bhd (KL:CDB) and the Minister of Finance Inc. U Mobile exited DNB at end-2024.

In July 2024, then deputy communications minister Teo Nie Ching said in the Dewan Rakyat that mobile network operators would not be allowed to hold equity in both 5G entities in the dual wholesale network model. This would mean that Maxis may let go of its equity in DNB if the U Mobile acquisition pans out.

As at end-2024, U Mobile had total assets of RM5.98 billion, while its total liabilities were RM8.02 billion.

For its financial year ended December 2024 (FY2024), U Mobile suffered an after-tax loss of RM722 million on RM3.73 billion in revenue (see table). For FY2023, it posted an after-tax profit of RM102,000 from RM3.5 billion in revenue.

As at end-FY2024, the company had accumulated losses of RM4.67 billion, compared with accumulated losses of RM3.95 billion as at end-FY2023.

Maxis, meanwhile, chalked up a net profit of RM1.56 billion on revenue of RM10.63 billion for its FY ended December 2025. As at end-December 2025, the company had deposits, cash and bank balances of RM458 million and total borrowings of RM8.98 billion. Its reserves stood at RM3.54 billion.

Last Thursday, Maxis shares ended trading at RM3.83, translating into a market capitalisation of RM30 billion.

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