Syed Mokhtar targeting XOX next?

KUALA LUMPUR: XOX Bhd, an ACE Market-listed mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), is said to be a target of takeover by businessman Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary, people familiar with the matter said yesterday.

Business Times learnt that any move on XOX, which has about 500,000 subscribers, will take place by as early as next month.

"XOX is an interesting proposition to Syed Mokhtar's group because of its involvement in the telco business and its current strategic partnership with Celcom (M) Bhd," said a source.

XOX currently has a commercial arrangement with Celcom to use the latter's mobile network infrastructure.

XOX also uses exclusively the mobile number prefix of 010, which was previously used by Celcom.

Syed Mokhtar's Puncak Semangat Technology Sdn Bhd was recently awarded the 2600MHz spectrum by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), which allows it to provide 4G services with speeds in excess of 100Mbps (megabits per second).

4G is mobile broadband services delivered using next generation mobile broadband technologies such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access).

Puncak Semangat will be riding on Celcom' network to run its 4G service.

XOX, however, is said not to be Syed Mokhtar's first choce, said sources.

He had earlier mulled the takeover of Jaring Communications Bhd, the country's first Internet service provider.

That plan did not take off and he is believed to have then made an offer for Tenaga Nasional Bhd's 49 per cent stake in Fibercomm Network Sdn Bhd, a wholesale broadband service provider.

The remaining shares in Fibrecomm are held by Telekom Malaysia Bhd, the dominant broadband service provider in the country.

Earlier in the week, XOX shares shot up to 30 sen a piece, on expectation that an agreement to take over the company has been reached.

The shares eventually recorrected to about 16 sen each, though volume on the stock remains firm.

XOX, which has a par value of 10 sen a share, was listed on the stock market last year at 80 sen a share.

By Francis Fernandez, btimes.com.my