Australian mobile phone firm sold

Australia's watchdog was worried that Vodafone's market share would be over 50%.

The Australian mobile phone firm Optus is about to be sold to Singapore Telecommunications for $20bn Australian dollars (£7bn, $10bn), a source close to the deal said on Sunday.

"I would expect an announcement on Monday. While some paperwork is yet to be signed, SingTel is confident it will get across the line," the source said.

"If an announcement is to be made, we will inform the market," SingTel director of corporate communications Ivan Tan said on Sunday.

SingTel is Asia's eighth largest telecom company.

A bid for Optus from its rival Vodafone Pacific, the Australian arm of the world's number one mobile phone firm, failed because of regulatory worries.

Australia's competition watchdog has been studying the implications of Vodafone taking over Optus and are believed to be concerned that the deal would boost its market share to more than 50%.

A SingTel deal is not expected to face regulatory difficulties.

Optus has been for sale since November 2000.

Cable & Wireless owns 52% of the company, with the rest held publicly.

Vodafone has withdrawn from the bidding. Earlier, the company had planned to launch a revised bid later this week.

Negotiations with SingTel started recently and, it appears, quickly led to a deal.

However, the Singapore company's spokesman Ivan Tan declined to comment, as did a spokesman for another bidder, Telecom Corp of New Zealand.