(Bloomberg) -- Macquarie Asset Management Pty has submitted a bid to buy Axiata Group Bhd.’s telecom infrastructure unit in a transaction that could value it at about $3.5 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Axiata is evaluating the offer for edotco Group Sdn. and has yet to make a decision, the people said, asking not to be identified as the process is private. Considerations are ongoing and may not lead to a deal, the people said, adding that edotco may also draw other bids.
Representatives for Macquarie and Axiata declined to comment.
Axiata, Malaysia’s biggest cellular firm, owns about 63% of edotco.
Macquarie’s bid follows Innovation Network Corp. of Japan reviving the sale of its 21% stake in edotco in October. INCJ needs to unload its holding by the end of March when its mandate to operate ends. It invested $400 million in the Kuala Lumpur-based telecom infrastructure firm eight years ago.
Founded in 2012, edotco manages over 55,000 telecom towers in Asia, including in Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines, its website shows. It agreed to sell its 87.5% stake in edotco Investments Singapore Pte., a special purpose vehicle for its investments in Myanmar, for about $150 million in April.
Other recent Macquarie transactions include a $663 million acquisition of Hanam Data Center in Seoul announced in August, while it sold Australian data-center operator AirTrunk in a $16.1 billion deal the following month.
--With assistance from Ram Anand.
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