About nine months after announcing a proposed takeover of local telecommunications firm M1, Simba is under investigation for a breach of Singapore’s Telecommunications Act.
Thus, an ongoing review of the acquisition has been suspended, said the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) in a press release on Monday (18 May).
Source: Google Maps
While reviewing the deal, IMDA learnt that Simba “could have been using radio frequency bands that had not been assigned to them to provide mobile services”.
This is tantamount to using radio frequencies without authorisation — a breach of the Telecommunications Act 1999, IMDA said.
It also goes against the conditions of Simba’s facilities-based operations licence.
Mobile operators in Singapore are allowed to use only the spectrum frequency assigned to them by IMDA.
IMDA said it is investigating this matter and pledged to take “the appropriate enforcement actions” if it is established.
In the case of breaches, licensees may be fined to the tune of S$1 million or 10% of their annual turnover, whichever is higher, according to the Telecommunications Act.
Until its investigation has been concluded, IMDA has decided to suspend its review of the proposed acquisition “until further notice”.
Source: Google Maps
This is because the investigation findings may be material to IMDA’s assessment, it added.
The proposed acquisition of M1 by Simba was announced in August 2025.
Asset manager Keppel, which owns an 83.9% stake in M1, would have received close to S$1 billion in cash proceeds.
Simba, which is owned by Tuas, a spin-off of Australian telco TPG Telecom, had put forward the strongest bid among interested parties, Keppel said at the time.
But IMDA said on Monday that it was necessary to assess the deal in a “detailed and thorough” manner, given that M1 operates large mobile and broadband networks in Singapore.
The assessment involves evaluating whether the acquisition would significantly lessen competition or raise public interest concerns, as well as examining the likely operations of critical telecommunications infrastructure, especially in light of the “heightened cyber risk landscape”.
In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange on Monday, Simba’s parent company Tuas said it was fully cooperating with IMDA.
The Tuas board would review the circumstances surrounding Simba’s alleged unauthorised use of radio frequency bands, it added.
Tuas noted that the share purchase agreement for the deal to acquire M1 has a long-stop date of 21 May.
This is the deadline by which all conditions and approvals must be satisfied or waived, or all parties can walk away.
Discussions with the counterparties to the agreement are ongoing, Tuas added.
However, during a media and analysts’ briefing on the same day, Keppel Chief Executive Officer Loh Chin Hua said the company will allow the sale and purchase agreement with Simba to lapse when the long-stop date comes up on Thursday.
Source: Keppel Ltd. on Facebook
Keppel understands IMDA’s considerations and respects its decision, and will now execute its Plan B, he noted.
This activates a 90-day plan to strengthen M1’s competitiveness, which involves “structural rightsizing”, reducing technology platform and network costs, using artificial intelligence (AI) for automation, and product rationalisation.
In response to The Straits Times’ queries on potential retrenchment during the briefing, Mr Loh said the company has “not gone that far”, and he had no details to share about that at the moment.
Also read: M1 telco business will be sold to Simba for S$1.43B, to be fully paid in cash
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