Fin min approves Tk 607cr as fees for Robi-Airtel merger

The finance ministry on Wednesday approved Tk 607 crore as fees and spectrum adjustment charges for the proposed merger of mobile phone companies Robi and Airtel.
Officials of the posts and telecommunication ministry said the approval came at a meeting where senior officials of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission were also present.
Of the total amount, Tk 507 crore would be charged to adjust the 2G spectrum charges of Airtel and Tk 100 crore as merger fees, said the officials.
‘Now we will send the matter for the prime minister’s approval. As there is a court hearing date on the matter tomorrow [today], the government will ask for more time to finalise its proposal,’ a senior ministry official said.
BTRC and ministry officials said Airtel’s predecessor Warid Telecom in 2005 obtained 15MHz spectrum of 2G or 1800 band for 15 years with a total fee of Tk 340 crore meaning that the price of per MHz spectrum for a year is Tk 1.51 crore.
On the other hand, the other operators in 2011 got per MHz of 2G spectrum (for the second round) at a price of Tk 150 crore for 15 years meaning that the price of per MHz spectrum is Tk 10 crore a year, they said.
The spectrum price adjustment calculation has been done considering the remaining four years of validity of Airtel’s 2G spectrum.
‘If Robi doesn’t take the entire 15MHz of Airtel’s 2G spectrum, then the adjustment price would be lowered as per the obtained amount of spectrum,’ a senior ministry official told New Age.
The chairman of Axiata Group, parent company of Robi, Jamaludin Ibrahim, however, earlier said that his company would call off the merger deal if the Bangladesh government imposed ‘high’ fees and charges.
He also said that the group was ready to pay a ‘certain amount’ to seal the merger deal.
Malaysia-based Robi, the third largest mobile operator in Bangladesh, and India-based Airtel in September 2015 announced that their Bangladesh operations would be merged and they signed an agreement on January 29 in this connection.
Upon completion of the proposed merger, Robi’s parent company Axiata will hold 68.3 per cent controlling stake in the combined entity, while Bharti Airtel will hold 25 per cent and the remaining 6.7 per cent will be held by NTT DOCOMO of Japan.
At present, Axiata Group’s share in Robi is 91.59 per cent and NTT DOCOMO holds the rest 8.41 per cent.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net