Sri Lankan telecom operators Dialog Axiata and Bharti Airtel have signed a definitive agreement to merge telecom operations in the island nation, the companies said on Thursday, nearly a year after the merger was announced.
Under the agreement, Dialog Axiata will acquire a 100% stake in Airtel Lanka by issuing Bharti Airtel a 10.4% stake in Dialog Axiata.
Dialog Axiata is majorly owned by Malaysia’s Axiata Group.
Airtel Lanka is the Sri Lankan unit of India’s Bharti Airtel.
The companies said the share swap would be valued by an independent body.
The deal has been approved by Sri Lanka’s telecom regulator but has yet to be cleared by Dialog Axiata’s shareholders and the Colombo Stock Exchange.
Airtel Lanka contributed a mere 0.2% of parent Bharti Airtel’s consolidated turnover in fiscal 2023, the company said in an exchange filing.