HC approves Robi-Airtel merger

The High Court has approved much discussed merger proposal of country’s mobile phone operators Robi and Airtel.

The HC bench of Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed passed the order today, paving the way for first such initiative in Bangladesh.

Ashiqur Rahman, Manager of Media Relations at Robi, confirmed the matter to Samakal.

The merger company will be introduced as Robi and will have to pay Tk 238 crore as merger fee to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

Earlier in the first week of this month, the Prime Minister’s Office approved the merger proposal.

Upon completion of the merger process, Axiata, the parent company of Robi, will hold a 68.7 percent controlling stake, while Bharti Airtel will hold 25 percent and NTT DOCOMO of Japan 6.3 percent.

Besides, the entity will be the second largest operator in Bangladesh after Grameenphone in terms of subscribers.