Robi and Airtel have started their journey together as one company. Their Tk 1 billion merger, the first for mobile phone operators in Bangladesh, came into effect on Wednesday, Robi said in a media statement. “The combined entity will operate under the brand name of Robi Axiata Limited and will serve approximately 32.2 million subscribers.”‘Airtel’ will remain as an independent product brand of Robi Axiata, it added.
Robi is the second largest mobile phone operator in the country after Grameenphone which has a subscription base of more than 56 million.Axiata’s stake in the new company was 68.7 percent and Bharti Airtel had 25 percent. The rest 6.3 percent is owned by the existing shareholder, Japan ‘s NTT DOCOMO, according to Robi.“The merger strengthens the long-term sustainability of the Bangladesh telecoms landscape and business environment…” said Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, Robi’s Managing Director and CEO. He hoped to secure speedier mobile internet while contributing significantly to the economy.Robi and Aritel signed an agreement for the merger on Jan 28.Then on Jul 13, a meeting at the finance ministry fixed Tk 1 billion as the fee for the amalgamation.The Prime Minister’s Office gave the clearance on Aug 1.Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) greenlighted the move on Oct 18.
source:bdnews24.com
