Airtel (Bengali: এয়ারটেল) is a telecom sub-brand of Robi Axiata in Bangladesh, which was managed by Bharti Airtel under the banner, 'Airtel Bangladesh Limited' until November 2016. In November 2016, Airtel merged its operations with Robi Axiata Limited. Following the merger, Airtel remained as a product brand of Robi Axiata Ltd. in Bangladesh. Since then, Robi Axiata is the brand licensing holder for Airtel brand in Bangladesh. Previously Airtel Bangladesh acquired Warid Bangladesh in 2010. After the merge, Robi Axiata marketed Airtel as "the #1 network of friends" targeting the youth.
_logo.png){kind=logo} | |
| Formerly | Warid Bangladesh (2007- 2010) Airtel Bangladesh Limited (2010- 2016) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunication |
| Predecessor | Warid Telecom Bangladesh Airtel Bangladesh Limited |
| Founded | 10 May 2007 |
| Fate | Merged into Robi Axiata Limited |
| Successor | Robi Axiata Limited |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Bangladesh |
| Products | Mobile telephony Internet services |
| Parent | Axiata Group Berhad (61.82%) Bharti Airtel (28.18%) Public holds (10%) |
| Website | Airtel Robi |
History
editIn December 2005, Warid Telecom International LLC, an Abu Dhabi based consortium, paid US$50 million to obtain a GSM license from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). In doing so, Warid Telecom became the sixth mobile phone operator in Bangladesh.
Takeover by Bharti Airtel
editIn 2010, Warid Telecom sold a majority 70% stake in the company to India's Bharti Airtel for US$300 million. Bharti's proposal also included an initial $300 million investment in Warid to create new shares in the company.[1][2] The BTRC approved the deal on 4 Jan 2010.[3] Bharti Airtel Limited took control of the company and its board and re-branded the company's services under its 'Airtel' brand starting on 20 December 2010.
In March 2013, Warid Telecom sold its remaining 30% share to Bharti Airtel's Singapore-based concern Bharti Airtel Holdings Pte Limited for US$85 million.[4][5][6]
On 8 September 2013, Airtel Bangladesh licensed 5 MHz of the 3G spectrum for US$1.25 million.
Merger with Robi Axiata
editIn January 2016, Robi and Airtel Bangladesh announced that they intended to merge their Bangladesh operations. The combined entity, called Robi, would serve about 32 million subscribers. Axiata Group was to own 68.7% of the shares, Bharti Enterprises was to own 25.0%, while the remaining 6.3% would be owned by NTT DoCoMo.[7][8] The merger was completed in November 2016.[9]
Departs of NTT DoCoMo
editIn June 2020, Japanese telecom company NTT DoCoMo left Bangladesh by selling its entire stakes in Robi Axiata Ltd to Bharti Airtel. Which has been with Robi from 2008, by acquiring 30 percent stake in that company. At the time of departure, it had only 6.31 percent shares and completely empty handed despite investing $350 million in the country.[10] [11]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Bharti bags Bangladesh's Warid for bargain price of Rs 45 lakh". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ Krishna, R. Jai; Sahu, Prasanta (12 January 2010). "Bharti Airtel to Buy Warid Telecom for $300 Million". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
- ^ Ahmed, Rumman (5 January 2010). "Bharti Airtel to Invest $300 Million in Warid Telecom". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
- ^ "Bharti Buys out airtel Bangladesh". The Daily Star. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
- ^ "Robi-Airtel merger defers again". The Daily Star. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ "Airtel spends $80 million for additional 30% stake in Airtel Bangladesh". The Daily Ittefaq. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ "Axiata and Bharti Airtel Agree to Merge Operations in Bangladesh". Axiata. 28 January 2016. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ "Malaysia's Axiata and India's Bharti to merge subsidiaries". Reuters. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ "Robi, Airtel complete merger". The Daily Star. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
- ^ "NTT DoCoMo poured $350m in Bangladesh. But it is now leaving empty-handed". The Daily Star. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "Bharti Airtel to buy NTT DoCoMo's stakes in Robi". The Business Standard. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2024.