Dialog Axiata to acquire Bharti Airtel’s telecom operations in Sri Lanka

Reuters reports that Dialog Axiata, a leading Sri Lanka telecom operator, has finalized an agreement to acquire Bharti Airtel’s operations in Sri Lanka.

This agreement comes nearly a year after the initial announcement of the merger.

As part of the acquisition, Dialog Axiata will take complete ownership of Airtel Lanka and will, in return, issue a 10.4% stake of its own shares to Bharti Airtel.

Dialog Axiata is primarily owned by the Axiata Group based in Malaysia, while Airtel Lanka operates as the Sri Lankan branch of the Indian telecom giant, Bharti Airtel.

The valuation of the share swap will be determined by an independent entity. Although the transaction has received the green light from the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL), it still requires the approval of Dialog Axiata’s shareholders and the Colombo Stock Exchange to proceed.

In terms of financial significance, Airtel Lanka’s operations represent just 0.2% of Bharti Airtel’s total consolidated revenue for the fiscal year 2023, as noted in a filing with the stock exchange.