The rumour mill is back spinning with the story of a merger between Maxis Bhd and U Mobile Sdn Bhd.
While the recent report by a foreign wire service on the possibility of a merger between Maxis and U Mobile is not the first time such a story had come up, it still attracts market attention due to the impact it could have on the country's telecom sector.
A merged Maxis-U Mobile entity would overtake CelcomDigi Bhd as the country's largest mobile operator by subscribers. As of Oct 30, Maxis is valued at RM27.9 billion, while CelcomDigi is about RM1 billion bigger in market value.
After the story broke last Wednesday (Oct 28), Maxis' shareholders reacted negatively to the story, with its share price falling 3.8 per cent to close at RM3.51. The stock fell 5.2 per cent during trading hours that day, the biggest intraday decline since June.
