StarHub completes acquisition of MyRepublic's broadband business in S$105 million deal

SINGAPORE: StarHub has fully acquired MyRepublic's broadband business, the telco announced on Tuesday (Aug 12).

The telco, which owns a 50.1 per cent stake in MyRepublic Broadband, has bought the remaining 49.9 per cent, according to a media release.

The latest transaction includes the MyRepublic brand in Singapore and "certain key operational assets" that are associated with its broadband business and operations.

The deal is worth S$105.2 million (US$81.8 million), comprising S$94.3 million for the shares and S$10.9 million for MyRepublic Broadband's assets, according to a filing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). 

"This move strengthens StarHub’s multi-brand, multi-segment strategy in the Singapore broadband market and enables greater value creation through service differentiation and cross-product bundling," said StarHub.

"This isn’t just an acquisition. It’s an acceleration,” said StarHub CEO Nikhil Eapen, adding that the company has "laid a strong foundation for growth".

With StarHub now having full ownership of MyRepublic Broadband, the telco can "move faster, go further, and serve customers with even greater clarity and care", he added.

Mr Eapen said that Singapore's broadband landscape is in a "phase of consolidation". 

"As the market shifts, scale, quality, and resilience matter more than ever. Smaller players may find it harder to sustain, especially without robust platforms. 

"Our role is to step up to provide the reliability, performance, and consistency that customers deserve at a time when they need it most."

In a press release on Tuesday, MyRepublic said its other operations will continue as usual after the acquisition.

These include its mobile businesses in Singapore and New Zealand - under the MyRepublic and Rocket Mobile brands respectively - as well as its platform and digital business, MyRepublic Digital.

"The non-broadband customers can rest assured that they will continue to enjoy MyRepublic services," the company said.

The acquisition comes a day after asset manager Keppel said it will sell M1's telecom operations to operator Simba Telecom for an enterprise value of S$1.43 billion (US$1.11 billion).

StarHub in 2022 obtained regulatory approval from the Infocomm Media Development Authority to acquire the majority stake in MyRepublic Broadband. 

Responding to CNA’s queries, a StarHub spokesperson said the telco had "no immediate plans for team restructuring or changes to existing services following the acquisition".

"Our focus remains on delivering quality, reliability, and seamless experiences for customers as we continue to align and strengthen the business," the spokesperson added.