Robi Axiata Limited (Robi) and Airtel Bangladesh Limited (Airtel) have entered into a formal agreement to consolidate their operations in Bangladesh. The agreement came at the end of January 2016 after the two companies’ parent companies, Axiata Group Barhad (Axiata) and Bharti Airtel Limited (Bharati) announced the start of discussions on the possibility of consolidating business activities in Bangladesh. This information in a press release Reported Robi Axiata Limited.

After the merger, the merged entity of the two companies will conduct business under the name Robi and the number of customers of the merged entity will stand at around 4 crore.

Robi + Airtel = Robi

The effectiveness of this agreement depends on the approval of the country’s telecommunications regulatory authority, the government and the courts. Both companies expect the process to be completed within the next two months.

The execution of the agreement will result in a restructuring of the share capital and in which Axiata will control 7.3% of the consolidated entity. Bharati, on the other hand, will hold 25 per cent and the remaining 7.6 per cent will be held by the current other shareholder, NTT DoCoMo of Japan.

The press release discusses the rationale for merging the two mobile companies and the integration of transactions:

• This integration will bring a better customer experience and more choice opportunities by strengthening the competitive environment.
• The integration will ensure the widest possible network coverage and better mobile internet service experience for 40 million subscribers.
• Sales and marketing services can be extended to a wider area through the most comprehensive sales and marketing channels and in collaboration with the largest number of customer service centers across the country.
• By relying on the power of a huge number of 40 million subscribers, customers will be able to make calls on their own network (on-net) at low cost.
• Ensuring the availability of internet connection across Bangladesh and consolidating the activities of the two companies will make it possible to deliver more affordable mobile services.

Robi Axiata Limited is a joint venture between Axiata Group Berhad, Malaysia and NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan. Robi Axiata Formerly known as Telecom Malaysia International (Bangladesh). It started its journey in Bangladesh in 1996 as Actel brand. On March 26, 2010, the service became known as the ‘Robi’ brand, and the company became known as Robi Axiata Limited. And Airtel Bangladesh Limited The owner is Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel, which bought Warid Telecom’s business in Bangladesh.