Bharti in talks to merge Bangladesh operations with Axiata's Robi

MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel is folding its Bangladesh operations into those of Robi, Malaysia’s Axiata-owned mobile operator in the South Asian country to pip the second largest company by subscribers Banglalink. The combined entity with though trail market leader Grameen Phone, owned by Telenor group that runs Uninor in India.

"There is no certainty that this discussion will lead into the execution of binding definitive agreements between the parties," the two companies said in a joint statement Wednesday.

"This announcement is to facilitate the on-going discussions and exchanges of information between the parties, including but not limited to discussions with the relevant regulatory authorities," they added.

The financials of the deal weren’t immediately available.

When contacted, an Airtel spokesperson said, "We remain committed to Bangladesh."

The move comes as part of Bharti Airtel’s initiative to restructure operations in all markets where it trails one or more market leaders.

Bharti Airtel also has operations in Sri Lanka and 17 countries in Africa outside of its India business which is profitable and a benchmark for the Indian telecom market.