Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has started reviewing the merger application of Robi Axiata Limited and Airtel Bangladesh Limited before giving them the nod.
Robi and Airtel recently applied to the telecom regulator for permission to merge into a single entity.
Requesting anonymity, a BTRC official said the telecom watchdog lays emphasis on the job certainty of the employees after the two operators get merged.
“The issue was raised at the commission meeting where its members discussed various aspects of the merger including law aspects. The application now requires the telecom division’s approval,” he said.
Following the approval, both the operators will have to go to the company matter bench of the High Court. If anyone does not raise any objection there, BTRC will give final approval, the official added.
Indian telecommunication giant Bharti Airtel and Malaysia-based Axiata Group began talks to merge their operations in Bangladesh last month to create the second-largest operator in the country.
Robi will have a 75% stake in the merged entity while Airtel 25%, 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% stake, 70% will be owned by Axiata Group, Robi’s Malaysia-based parent company, and 5% by Japan’s NTT DOCOMO.
Airtel bought a 70% stake in Warid Telecom in Bangladesh for $100,000 in January 2010, prompting the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh to raise questions about the deal price.
Airtel is the fourth largest telecom operator in Bangladesh while it is number one in India.
According to Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC), Grameenphone — promoted by Telenor — has 53.98m mobile subscribers, Banglalink 32.4m, Robi Axiata 27.9m, Airtel Bangladesh 9m and Pacific Bangladesh Telecom 1.1m as of July 2015.
Airtel Bangladesh is present across 64 districts with a distribution network comprising 152,000 retailers across the country. Airtel has 3G network with more than 2,000 3G sites across the country.
Airtel revenue from South Asia comprising Bangladesh and Sri Lanka dipped 11% to Rs3,886m in June 2015. The telecom operator invested Rs992m in South Asia.