CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -India’s Bharti Airtel subsidiary acquires additional 6.3 percent stake in Robi.

Detailed explanation-2: -In the merged entity, Axiata, the parent company of Robi, will hold a 68.7 percent controlling stake. Bharti Airtel will hold a 25 percent share in the company and Axiata’s old partner NTT DOCOMO of Japan 6.3 percent. Currently, Malaysia-based Axiata had a 91.59 percent stake in Robi and NTT Docomo 8.41 percent.

Detailed explanation-3: -It was managed by Bharti Airtel Bangladesh until 2016, when Bharti Airtel Bangladesh merged its operations into Robi Axiata Ltd. Following the merger, Airtel Bangladesh remained as a product brand of Robi Axiata. Since then, Robi Axiata is the brand licensing holder for Airtel in Bangladesh.

Detailed explanation-4: -The major objectives of the merger are long term commitment to core markets, immediate marginal accretion to revenue and neutral to EBITDA, management control retained, capture the growth market in Bangladesh especially mobile internet and to achieve lower operational and distributional costs.

Detailed explanation-5: -Finally Robi and Airtel were merged on 16 November 2016 and Robi set sail as the merged company. Later on, in 2020, after a decade with Robi, NTT Docomo decided to leave Bangladesh by selling its remaining stake in Robi Axiata Limited to Bharti International.