Robi-Airtel merger awaits final approval
The landmark merger of Robi and Airtel yesterday got closer to fruition after the telecom regulator gave it the green light.
The merger, which will make the combined entity the second largest mobile operator in Bangladesh, is now awaiting the final approval from the government. It will also require the go-ahead from court about share transfer.
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission found no legal problem in the proposed merger, said BTRC spokesman Md Sarwar Alam, adding that it will be referred to the government next week.
The final approval will come with series of conditions, such as no cut jobs and no dropping of distributors.
The development will bring a sigh of relief to Airtel Bangladesh's 800 officials, most of whom are feeling insecure about their jobs after the news of the merger broke through.
After the merger, all the property and assets of the two operators as well as their spectrums and subscribers will be brought under one roof.
The combined entity, which will operate under the brand name of Robi, will have 3.7 crore subscribers, second only to Grameenphone, which has 5.4 crore active subscribers.
No discrimination in services between the two operators' subscribers will be tolerated.
All the dues to the regulator will have to be cleared before the merger gets through, and the new entity will have to take responsibility for the two previous companies' liabilities.
Robi will have a 75 percent stake in the merged entity and Airtel 25 percent, according to the joint application signed by Supun Weerasinghe, chief executive officer of Robi, and PD Sarma, managing director of Airtel Bangladesh, to the telecom regulator.
Of Robi's 75 percent stake, 70 percent will be owned by Axiata Group, Robi's Malaysia-based parent company, and 5 percent by Japan's NTT DOCOMO.
At present, Axiata Group's share in Robi is 91.59 percent and NTT DOCOMO's 8.41 percent.
Robi, which started its journey in Bangladesh in 1997, has been making profits for the last three years but Airtel has been a loss-making concern since its inception in 2010.
In fiscal 2013-14, Robi's gross revenue was Tk 4,672 crore and Airtel's Tk 1,713 crore, according to the telecom regulator's annual report.
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