StarHub hands Ensign InfoSecurity control back to Temasek in S$115 million deal, books S$200 million gain

[SINGAPORE] StarHub is ceding majority control of joint venture (JV) Ensign InfoSecurity to co-shareholder Temasek in a S$115 million deal that closes out a seven-year governance arrangement and books the telco a gain of more than S$200 million.

StarHub said the move will “partially monetise” its investment in Ensign Infosecurity while retaining strategic participation, allowing it to redeploy capital towards other strategic and core business investments.

The telco said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday (Apr 15) night that it has agreed with Ensign Technologies, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek, to terminate the assignment of aggregate assigned rights.

This refers to a bundle of voting and economic rights over Ensign InfoSecurity shares that Ensign Technologies had transferred to StarHub when the cybersecurity JV was established in 2018.

Under the original JV structure, Ensign Technologies assigned StarHub rights over shares representing 20 per cent of Ensign InfoSecurity’s total issued capital in exchange for S$52 million.

StarHub subsequently paid further sums to acquire additional assigned rights through a series of capital calls and share subscriptions, bringing the total consideration paid for the arrangement to about S$77.6 million.

The practical effect was to give StarHub an effective interest of 55.73 per cent in Ensign InfoSecurity, well above its registered shareholding, for a fixed period.

That period has now ended. With the termination taking effect on Wednesday, StarHub’s stake reverts to its underlying 38.92 per cent, and Ensign InfoSecurity will be reclassified from a subsidiary to an associated company of the telco.

Temasek, through Ensign Technologies, resumes majority control.

In consideration for the termination, Ensign Technologies will pay StarHub S$115 million in cash, to be settled within 15 business days.

StarHub said it expects to book a fair-value gain of over S$200 million for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2026, arising from the termination and the remeasurement of its residual 38.92 per cent stake upon the reclassification.

The two parties have also agreed that Ensign InfoSecurity will distribute S$6 million in cash to StarHub by way of a capital reduction, as soon as reasonably practicable, after completion.

At StarHub’s full-year 2025 results in February, chief executive Nikhil Eapen said the company was in “quite advanced stages” of selling a stake to its co-shareholder and indicated that an update would be likely in the first quarter of 2026.

Shares of StarHub closed flat at S$1.05 on Wednesday, before the announcement.