The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) on Wednesday approved the prospectus for initial public offering (IPO) of Robi Axiata Limited, the second largest mobile operator in the country, to raise Tk523.79 crore.
The stocks market regulator gave the approval at a commission meeting held at its headquarters. BSEC chairman Professor Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam presided over the meeting.
Under the fixed price method, Robi Axiata Limited will offload 52.38 crore shares for Tk10 each. The main objective of the IPO is to expand its existing network coverage.
Robi will be the country's biggest-ever initial public offering. In 2009, Grameenphone became the first mobile operator in Bangladesh when it made its debut on the two bourses. It raised Tk486.07 crore.
As the second entrant under the telecommunication sector in the capital market, the listing of Robi will significantly boost market capitalization, said the issue manager of IDLC Investments Limited.
Arif Khan, CEO and Managing Director of IDLC, said, “We are really proud to be the issue manager for this largest IPO. We believe this initiative will further foster the growth of the telecommunication sector. IDLC will continue introducing such well-governed companies, bringing about a positive impact in Bangladesh’s capital market.”
According to the financial statement ending December 31, 2019, the company's net asset value (NAV) per share was Tk12.64 while earnings per share (EPS) were Tk0.04.
Robi's authorized capital is Tk 6,000 crore and paid-up capital is Tk4,714 crore.
In 2019, the company’s net profit was Tk16.90 crore, which was Tk214.7 crore in the previous year.
Robi is the second largest mobile network operator in Bangladesh, with a subscriber base currently at 46.9 million, thus representing 29.9% of the total number of subscribers.
Robi Axiata is a joint venture between Axiata Group Berhad of Malaysia and Bharti Airtel of India. Axiata holds 68.69% controlling stake in the entity, and Bharti holds the remaining 31.31% share in the company.
The company commenced operations in 1997 as Telekom Malaysia International (Bangladesh) with the brand name ‘Aktel’. In 2010, it was rebranded as ‘Robi’ with the company changing its name to Robi Axiata Limited.
Following the merger with Airtel Bangladesh, the merged company, Robi Axiata Limited (Robi), started its commercial operations on 16 November 2016. As of now, this is the biggest ever merger of the country and the first ever merger in the mobile telecom sector of Bangladesh.
On March 2, Robi submitted an application in relation to the proposals to the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission.
IDLC Investments as the issue manager for the IPO take immense pride in being part of this exciting journey, its officials have said.
IDLC also worked as corporate advisor in the Robi-Airtel merger back in 2016, one of the largest mergers and acquisition transactions in Bangladesh.
Shahid Alam, Chief Corporate and Regulatory Officer of Robi Axiata Limited, said: "We would like to thank the BSEC for kindly approving our IPO application. This is indeed a historic moment for Robi. We are immensely proud to be coming to the stock markets with the largest ever stock listing.
"The approval to enlist in the country’s stock markets paves the way for the people of the country to become shareholders of the company. We hope that the Government will positively consider certain conditions we had placed for enlistment in the interest of the prospective investors," he added.
