Telecom operator Airtel is in talks with Robi Axiata to merge their business operations in Bangladesh, the company said in a notification with the Bombay Stock Exchange. The development follows reports that Airtel is looking to sell its towers in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commision's July data, Robi Axiata is the third largest telecom operator with 27.921 million subscribers and Airtel is the fourth largest telco with 9.080 subscribers in the country. The combined entities will have 37.001 subscribers and will overtake Banglalink Digital Communications as the second largest telecom company in Bangladesh. A report by DNA says that Airtel will remain in Bangladesh as a strategic minority partner following the merger. Airtel entered Bangladesh by acquiring 70% stake in Warid Telecom in 2010, while in 2013, it picked up the remaining 30% too. Note that Robi's parent group, Malayasia-based Axiata Group Berhad, also owns 19.79% stake in Idea Cellular. Airtel's Bangladesh operations and financials At the end of the June quarter, Airtel was present in 64 district with a distribution network comprising of 152,000 retailers across Bangladesh. The company also has more than 2,000 3G sites in the country. Note that Airtel reports its Bangladesh and Sri Lanka operations under South Asia head, and revenue from the region stood at Rs 388.6 crore for the first quarter of FY 2015, a decrease of 11.1% as compared to Rs 437.1 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Data revenue grew by 66.3% to Rs 55.3 crore as compared to Rs 33.2 crore…
