Malaysian telco Axiata has approached Bharti Airtel to acquire the Indian mobile carrier’s Sri Lankan business, reported local daily Business Standard citing sources.
Axiata is estimated to have around a 40% share of the Sri Lankan market under the…
Malaysian telco Axiata has approached Bharti Airtel to acquire the Indian mobile carrier’s Sri Lankan business, reported local daily Business Standard citing sources.
Axiata is estimated to have around a 40% share of the Sri Lankan market under the Dialog Axiata brand, while Bharti Airtel’s Airtel Lanka unit accounts for about 9%.
Axiata and Bharti Airtel have not yet responded to TelecomFinance’s requests to confirm the report, but this would not be the first time that Axiata has looked to increase its stake in the Sri Lankan market.
Back in 2009 the company bid to acquire Millicom’s operations in the country, but dropped out of the running as the price was said to be too high.
Axiata was also thought to have approached Hong Kong telco Hutchison to acquire its Sri Lankan business, but the two companies reportedly could not agree on a deal value.
The Malaysian telco group is making acquisitions elsewhere in Asia. Last December it acquired Cambodian carrier Latelz for US$155m, with plans to merge it with its local entity in the country.
Axiata Group’s EBITDA rose 4.2% to RM7.4bn (US$2.4bn) in 2012 compared with the previous year, according to its financial results announced last month.
Its Sri Lankan business “delivered strong double digit growth across all financial metrics” with revenue up 24%, it said.
