Digi.com and the Axiata Group have received a nod for the proposed merger of their telco operations, which would enable the combined entity to become Malaysia’s largest mobile service operator by revenue.
In a joint statement, Axiata Group and Digi announced that they have received a notice of no-objection from the commisison to proceed with the merger of Celcom Axiata and Digi, to form Celcom Digi Bhd. Axiata is the parent company of Celcom Axiata, while Digi’s majority shareholder is Norway’s Telenor, which owns 49 per cent.
The merger is expected to be completed within the second half of 2022, after it gets approval from the Securities Commission, Bursa Malaysia and shareholders, according to reports. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission gave the clearance on Wednesday (Jun 29), nearly a year after the merger was first tabled.
Once done, Axiata and Telenor will have an equal stake of 33.1 per cent each in Celcom Digi Bhd, which will continue to be listed on Malaysia’s stock exchange.
When the merger was announced last year, it was estimated that the entity would have annual revenue of around US$3 billion and core profitability of US$1.4 billion, from a subscriber base of about 19 million customers. Digi currently has the largest base with 10.24 million subscribers, while Celcom’s 9.58 million subscribers is just slightly more than the 9.52 million currently with Maxis.
