Ooredoo Group held early stage talks to sell its division in Myanmar to a consortium including satellite TV provider Skynet, Reuters reported, a deal which echoes former rival Telenor Group’s protracted exit from the country earlier this year.

The news website claimed Ooredoo had already informed regulators in Myanmar it planned to sell its local division and discussions with suitors were ongoing.

In the frame to buy Ooredoo’s Myanmar unit is said to be a group comprising local conglomorate Young Investment Group, Skynet and infrastructure specialists Campana Group.

GSMA Intelligence figures place Ooredoo as the fourth largest operator in the country by connections with 8.3 million as of Q2.

Its largest competitors are state-owned MPT; MyTel, which also has links to government entities; and the rebranded former Telenor unit ATOM.

Ooredoo’s exit would mark the departure of a second major international telecoms group from the country since a coup d’etat in 2021.

Telenor reached a deal to sell its division to M1 Group in July 2021 for $105 million citing the “deteriorating situation”. It had already written-down the value of the business in the wake of the political unrest.

The sale wasn’t finalised until March and at one stage looked to be at risk of not completing at all. Prior to it being cleared, there had been widespread rumours authorities wanted a different buyer and would reject M1 Group’s deal.