Economic Reporter :
The first merger of Bangladesh’s telecom sector has come into effect with the beginning of the commercial operation of Robi Axiata as the merged company from Wednesday.
Following the merger of Robi and Airtel, the merged company will be known as Robi Axiata Limited, said a press release.
‘Airtel’ will remain as an independent product brand of Robi Axiata, said the release.
In completing the first telecoms merger as well as the country’s largest merger, Axiata now holds 68.7 percent controlling stake in the combined entity, while Bharti holds 25 percent. The remaining 6.3 percent will be held by the existing shareholder, NTT DOCOMO of Japan.
“We are pleased to have reached the completion phase of the merger with Airtel,” said Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Robi.
“We are grateful and offer our utmost appreciation for the support of several parties, particularly our shareholders, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, as well as Robi and Airtel consumers, all of whom made this merger possible”.
“The merger strengthens the long-term sustainability of the Bangladesh telecoms landscape and business environment, and will secure faster nationwide rollout of mobile broadband as well as contribute significantly to the overall economy of the country. Our work now as a combined entity will be focused towards providing our 32.2 million subscribers an unparalleled portfolio of innovative mobile and broadband offerings at affordable rates.”
Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Axiata said, “Axiata’s proven track record of successful strategic mergers and integrations in our other markets such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Cambodia has qualified the Group to lead the first telecoms merger and initiate market consolidation in Bangladesh.
The first merger of Bangladesh’s telecom sector has come into effect with the beginning of the commercial operation of Robi Axiata as the merged company from Wednesday.
Following the merger of Robi and Airtel, the merged company will be known as Robi Axiata Limited, said a press release.
‘Airtel’ will remain as an independent product brand of Robi Axiata, said the release.
In completing the first telecoms merger as well as the country’s largest merger, Axiata now holds 68.7 percent controlling stake in the combined entity, while Bharti holds 25 percent. The remaining 6.3 percent will be held by the existing shareholder, NTT DOCOMO of Japan.
“We are pleased to have reached the completion phase of the merger with Airtel,” said Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Robi.
“We are grateful and offer our utmost appreciation for the support of several parties, particularly our shareholders, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, as well as Robi and Airtel consumers, all of whom made this merger possible”.
“The merger strengthens the long-term sustainability of the Bangladesh telecoms landscape and business environment, and will secure faster nationwide rollout of mobile broadband as well as contribute significantly to the overall economy of the country. Our work now as a combined entity will be focused towards providing our 32.2 million subscribers an unparalleled portfolio of innovative mobile and broadband offerings at affordable rates.”
Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Axiata said, “Axiata’s proven track record of successful strategic mergers and integrations in our other markets such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Cambodia has qualified the Group to lead the first telecoms merger and initiate market consolidation in Bangladesh.
