This morning’s announcement follows last week’s statement that the creation of Celcom Digi was “a matter of days or a week”.
Jørgen Rostrup, Telenor’s head of Asia, said: “We look forward to partner with Axiata to realize the potential of the proposed merged company.”
Izzaddin Idris (pictured), Axiata’s group CEO, said: “We … remain aligned in our intentions to deliver a strong value proposition that will enable our customers to participate more confidently as the nation transitions towards a digital economy.”
Axiata and Telenor will each own 33.1% of the merged operation, with the rest of the shares on the Malaysian stock exchange, Bursa Malaysia Securities. The merged operation is valued at a combined pre-synergy equity value of close to 50 billion Malaysian ringgit (US$12 billion).
The two main shareholders said their initial estimates showed potential value accretion through cost and capex synergies of around 8 billion ringgit ($1.9 billion) on a net present value basis.
“With this merger we bring together competencies, financial strength and scale to go beyond connectivity and implement technology that further advances our customers digital experience,” said Rostrup.
Idris said: “We look forward to delivering better value and choices to benefit society, especially in bridging the divide in rural areas and assisting the home and enterprise businesses take advantage of new opportunities in this digitally accelerated environment.”
The deal needs shareholders’ approval and the approval of regulators, but the companies said the merged company will be called Celcom Digi. Idris will chair it, Rostrup will be deputy chair, Idham Nawawi will be CEO and Albern Murty will be deputy CEO.
