Corrected: UPDATE 3-Singtel confirms Optus stake-sale talks as regulatory pressure mounts

BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT

30/07/2026 01:22

Corrects paragraph 5 to say Optus outages were linked to two deaths, not four
July 30 (Reuters) - Singapore Telecommunications STEL.SI on Thursday 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. 
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 BAM.N, although the company denied a deal was imminent.

REGULATORY HEADWINDS
The 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 two 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  ($173,825) per contravention.
Optus acknowledged the regulatory proceedings in an emailed response to Reuters, while adding that it continues to invest in network resilience and strengthen its systems and processes.
Singtel did not respond to request for comment on the stake-sale discussions.


($1 = 1.4382 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Roshan Thomas and Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
 ((Roshan.Thomas@thomsonreuters.com;))