Robi-Airtel merger proposal awaits PM’s consent

The merger proposal of Robi-Airtel has been sent to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for final approval incorporating merger fees of Tk 100 crore, reports BSS.
Posts and Telecommu-nications Division (PDT) yesterday forwarded a summary of the merger proposal to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her consent, as she is also the minister of ministry of posts, telecommunications and information technology, an official of PDT told the news agency yesterday.
Apart from the merger fees, he said, the PDT has also fixed up Tk 33.8 crore for per Megahertz of 2G spectrum.
Earlier, on July 13, an inter-ministerial meeting, chaired by finance minister A M A Muhith, finalised the merger fees and spectrum prices.
The PDT in the proposal has incorporated several conditions for the country’s first ever merger in telecommunication sector.
At present, Airtel is using 15 MHz of 2G spectrum and its license would be expired in 2020. If Robi acquires the entire spectrum, the operator has to deposit a total of Tk 507 crore to the telecom regulator.
According to the terms and conditions, “They (Robi) have to submit a specific plan on human resource management to the telecom regulator to ensure job security of employees so that no one is terminated or any unemployment is created centering the proposed merger.”
Besides, a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) or Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) has to be prepared following the best practice of multinational companies, which
has also to be submitted to the telecom regulator.
Moreover, the BTRC must be informed of making the full payment under the VRS/VSS within the 60 days of the completion of the merger.
“If any complexity is created during implementation of the VRS/VSS, the merged company would adopt necessary measures through the directives of BTRC,” according to the terms and conditions.
It was also included that in the next three years of the merger, the regulator has to be informed with specific reason before any termination of the employees of Robi and Airtel joined the merged company.
In addition, jobs of employees of Airtel who would join the merged company would be considered as the continuation of the service in Airtel.
Robi and Airtel opened talks on a possible merger at the end of August, 2015, and on January 28, the operators’ parent companies signed a deal to that effect. If merged, the entity will be the second largest operator in Bangladesh.
In the merged entity, Axiata, the parent company of Robi, will hold 68.7 per cent controlling stake, Bharti Airtel 25 per cent and NTT DOCOMO of Japan 6.3 per cent.
Currently, Malaysia-based Axiata has 91.59 per cent stakes in Robi and Japan’s DOCOMO 8.41 per cent, meaning both their shares in the Bangladeshi operation will be diluted after the merger.
After the merger Robi will be the second largest operator after Grameenphone.

Robi-Airtel merger proposal awaits PMs consent

The merger proposal of Robi-Airtel has been sent to the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) for final approval incorporating merger fees of Tk 100 crore, reports BSS. Posts and Telecommu-nications Division (PDT) yesterday forwarded a summary of the merger proposal to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her consent, as she is also the minister of ministry of posts, telecommunications and information technology, an official of PDT told the news agency yesterday. Apart from the merger fees, he said, the PDT has also fixed up Tk 33.8 crore for per Megahertz of 2G spectrum. Earlier, on July 13, an inter-ministerial meeting, chaired by finance minister A M A Muhith, finalised the merger fees and spectrum prices. The PDT in the proposal has incorporated several conditions for the countrys first ever merger in telecommunication sector. At present, Airtel is using 15 MHz of 2G spectrum and its license would be expired in 2020. If Robi acquires the entire spectrum, the operator has to deposit a total of Tk 507 crore to the telecom regulator. According to the terms and conditions, They (Robi) have to submit a specific plan on human resource management to the telecom regulator to ensure job security of employees so that no one is terminated or any unemployment is created centering the proposed merger. Besides, a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) or Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) has to be prepared following the best practice of multinational companies, which has also to be submitted to the telecom regulator. Moreover, the BTRC must be informed of making the full payment under the VRS/VSS within the 60 days of the completion of the merger. If any complexity is created during implementation of the VRS/VSS, the merged company would adopt necessary measures through the directives of BTRC, according to the terms and conditions. It was also included that in the next three years of the merger, the regulator has to be informed with specific reason before any termination of the employees of Robi and Airtel joined the merged company. In addition, jobs of employees of Airtel who would join the merged company would be considered as the continuation of the service in Airtel. Robi and Airtel opened talks on a possible merger at the end of August, 2015, and on January 28, the operators parent companies signed a deal to that effect. If merged, the entity will be the second largest operator in Bangladesh. In the merged entity, Axiata, the parent company of Robi, will hold 68.7 per cent controlling stake, Bharti Airtel 25 per cent and NTT DOCOMO of Japan 6.3 per cent. Currently, Malaysia-based Axiata has 91.59 per cent stakes in Robi and Japans DOCOMO 8.41 per cent, meaning both their shares in the Bangladeshi operation will be diluted after the merger. After the merger Robi will be the second largest operator after Grameenphone.