Axiata and Airtel to merge subsidiaries in Bangladesh

Reuters:  Axiata Group Bhd AXIA.KL, Malaysia’s largest mobile operator by market value, and Bharti Airtel Ltd, India’s largest telecom operator by subscribers, agreed to merge their subsidiaries in Bangladesh, said Axiata on Thursday.

The merger of Robi Axiata Ltd., and Airtel Bangladesh Ltd., means components of the respective companies, will create an entity called Robi. The deal is expected to be completed by the first half of 2016, said a press statement by Axiata.

Axiata will hold a 68.3% stake in Robi, while Bharti will hold 25%. The remaining 6.7% stake will be held by existing Japanese shareholder NTT DOCOMO.