KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 26): Maxis Bhd (KL:MAXIS) is expected to get a small boost to its fibre business, which has seen little growth in recent quarters, analysts said on Monday.
The proposed acquisition of Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd's (KL:ASTRO) broadband business could expand Maxis' fibre customer base by about 22% to over 991,000 subscribers if it retains all accounts, according to Phillip Capital, RHB Investment Bank and Kenanga Investment Bank.
“We believe the enlarged customer base should strengthen Maxis' position in the fixed broadband segment while adding recurring revenue contribution,” Phillip Capital said.
Shares of Maxis were slightly higher at RM3.61, up seven sen or 2%, at 10.30am on Monday. The stock has rebounded off 2026 lows amid investors’ concerns over 5G competition and the share of losses from wholesale network operator Digital Nasional Bhd.
Analysts covering the stock are also cautious, with 14 ‘hold’ and nine ‘buy’ calls out of 23 tracked by Bloomberg. The average 12-month target price is RM4.04.
Kenanga, which covers both Maxis and Astro, is neutral on the deal for both parties. “For Maxis, it provides a capital-light avenue to scale its home fibre business” and a modest earnings contribution of RM2.5 million for 2027, the house said.
Astro, meanwhile, will get to monetise its “sub-scale, non-core business that requires ongoing expenditure on wholesale fibre access, subscriber acquisition and retention”, Kenanga noted.
On its part, Astro estimated a net gain of RM31.4 million from the disposal after taking into account derecognition of net assets of the business started in 2022 as part of its expansion beyond pay-television into fixed broadband.
The total price tag is capped at RM83 million and will be adjusted according to the number of subscribers transferred. Maxis, which has a cash balance of over RM800 million at the end of June, will fund the acquisition through internally generated funds.