Macrolink is said to be bidding for Axiata's telecom infrastructure unit, which could be valued at US$3.5bn

Macquarie Asset Management Pty Ltd has made a bid to buy the telecommunications infrastructure division of Axiata Group, according to people familiar with the matter, which could be valued at about $3.5bn. Axiata is assessing the offer for edotco Group Sdn Bhd, the people said. The company has yet to decide, they said, asking not to be named as the process is confidential. The people said the deliberations were ongoing and a deal may not be reached, adding that edotco could attract other bidders. Representatives for Macquarie and Axiata declined to comment.

Axiata, Malaysia’s largest mobile operator, owns about 63 per cent of edotco.

Japan’s Innovation Network Corp restarted the sale of its 21 per cent stake in edotco in October, after which Macquarie made an offer. Innovation Network needs to sell its stake by the end of March, when its business mandate expires. It invested $400m in the Kuala Lumpur-based telecom infrastructure company eight years ago.

edotco, founded in 2012, runs more than 55,000 telecom towers in Asia, according to its website, including in Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines. In April, it agreed to sell 87.5 per cent of edotco Investments Singapore Pte, its investment platform in Myanmar, for about $150m.

Other recent deals for Macquarie include the $663m acquisition of Seoul’s Hanam Data Centre in August, and the subsequent sale of Australian data centre operator AirTrunk for $16.1bn a month later.