Axiata said over the last four months, both parties had been working on due diligence and finalizing transaction agreements to be completed within the third quarter of 2019
The Axiata Group Bhd and Telenor ASA have mutually agreed to end discussions on the planned non-cash combination of their telecommunication and infrastructure assets in Asia, due to complexities involved in the transaction.
Telenor ASA is the parent company of Digi.Com Bhd's largest shareholder Telenor Asia Pte Ltd.
Axiata owns 70% stakes of Edotco Bangladesh Company Limited which already acquired the towers of Robi, while Telenor held 55.8% of the shares in Grameenphone.
In a press release issued yesterday, Axiata said both the parties had been working on due diligence and finalizing transaction agreements to be completed within the third quarter of 2019.
“Due to some complexities involved in the proposed transaction, the parties have mutually agreed to end the discussions.
“Both parties still acknowledge the strong strategic rationale of the Proposed Transaction. The parties do not rule out that a future transaction could be possible,” it said.
Axiata Chairman Tan Sri Ghazzali Sheikh Abdul Khalid said the board had acknowledged the strong strategic rationale of the proposed transaction and was equally cognizant of the level of complexity of such a deal that extends across nine countries and 14 major entities.
“Regardless of the expressed synergies of the merger, we are confident that the termination of the proposed transaction does not affect the group in achieving its Digital Champion ambitions.
“On behalf of the board of Axiata, we are grateful for the support of the government of Malaysia, our investors and all of our employees during this process,” he said.
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