Telstra Corp has appointed Merrill Lynch as its business adviser for the possible sale of the federal government's remaining $33 billion stake in the telco.
Chairman Donald McGauchie said the financial management and advisory company would advise Telstra in a scoping study into the sale and through any subsequent sale processes next year.
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"The appointment follows Telstra issuing a request for the proposal and a rigorous selection process," Mr McGauchie said.
"I thank all the firms that participated for their efforts in putting forward such high calibre proposals," he said.
The announcement comes just two weeks after the federal government appointed global investment bank UBS and independent advisers Caliburn Partnership to conduct a study into the possible sale of its remaining 51.8 per cent of Telstra.
The sale of the third tranche of Telstra, dubbed T3, is expected to take place next year, becoming the world's largest float.
UBS and Caliburn will advise on when and how the sale should go ahead while another study will look at different ways to sell the shares, including the possibility of an online share auction.
The government has said UBS will have to compete with against other investment banks for the lucrative job of coordinating the sales process.
Its rivals will include the three global coordinators of the first two sales - ABN Amro, Goldman Sachs JBWere and Credit Suisse First Boston.
Telstra was advised by investment bank JP Morgan during T1 and by Deutsche Bank in T2.
