KUALA LUMPUR: U Mobile Sdn Bhd, Malaysia’s fourth-biggest phone operator, is considering the sale of its telecommunication towers for about RM500mil, according to sources.

       The company is in talks with potential buyers including Edgepoint Capital Advisors and Edotco Group Sdn Bhd, a telecom infrastructure company, the sources said.

       U Mobile is still pursuing a planned initial public offering (IPO), the sources said.

       Discussions are at an early stage and the wireless carrier could decide against a sale, according to the sources.

       Representatives for U Mobile, Edgepoint and Edotco declined to comment.

       U Mobile, which has more than seven million subscribers, owns about 1,611 wireless towers in Malaysia.

       The company was planning to raise about RM2bil in a local IPO, Bloomberg News reported in 2019.

       Malaysian mobile-service providers are seeking to mobilise resources as they step up spending on 5G.

       The South-East Asian nation is looking to roll out the high-speed network in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya by the end of this year, before expanding nationwide by 2023.

       U Mobile’s shareholders include Singapore’s Straits Mobile Investments Pte and Malaysian tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan. — Bloomberg.