SK Telecom plans to sell its stake in MVNO Virgin Mobile USA and cease its investment in its Vietnamese joint venture.
The Korean operator owns 15.3% of Virgin Mobile. But the MVNO recently agreed to be acquired by its network provider, Sprint Nextel, for $483 million in a stock-swap deal.
The arrangement would see SKT’s shares diluted to below 1%, company spokeswoman Lauren Kim told Dow Jones, so the Korean operator has elected to sell its entire stake.
The sale price and the timing of the exit have yet to be set.
Meanwhile, SKT will also stop investing in Vietnamese mobile unit S-Telecom, citing poor subscriber growth.
S-Telecom, which operates under the S-Fone banner, is jointly owned by SK Telecom and Saigon Post and Telecommunications.
“Considering the market conditions, we have decided to cease further investment, but would rather effectively operate the business at the current status,” Kim told Dow Jones separately.