Far EasTone and Morgan Stanley would fund the deal using a $950 million bond issue and a $1.5 billion loan, Reuters reports.
The pair would buy CNS from private equity firm MBK which has tried twice to sell its stake in CNS, having first bought it for $1.5 billion in 2006.
If successful, the deal would mark the first major consolidation in the country’s telecoms and media market for five years.
Sources claim that the deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in Q1 2016.
Far EasTone spokeswoman Yaling Lang neither confirmed nor denied the deal to reporters, while Morgan Stanley declined to comment and MBK and CNS could not be immediately reached.
Far EasTone claimed to be the first operator in the world to launch 4G services in the APT700 band in June last year.