Airtel to merge Sri Lanka ops with Dialog to make nation’s largest telco

Bharti Airtel on Tuesday announced the merger of operations of Bharti Airtel Lanka, with Dialog — a subsidiary of Malaysian multinational telecommunications conglomerate Axiata Group Berhad.

Bharti Airtel Lanka is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, which began commercial operations in Sri Lanka in 2009. The proposed transaction envisages Airtel being granted a stake in Dialog, representing the fair value of Airtel Lanka, Bharti Airtel said in a statement.

Airtel will accordingly be issued new shares in Dialog on completion of the transaction. “Discussions with respect to the proposed transaction are going on between the parties and also with the relevant regulatory authorities as per applicable laws and regulations.