Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (April 1): Trading of the securities in Axiata Group Bhd and Digi.Com Bhd has been suspended pending the release of an expected material announcement.

This comes after Axiata and Digi.Com both requested a suspension of trading of their securities with immediate effect from 9am on Friday (April 1), according to the respective bourse filings.

The request for suspension was made under subparagraph 3.1(c) of Practice Note 2 on Requests for Suspension of the Main Market Listing Requirements of Bursa Securities, which allows companies to suspend the trading of their securities as the exchange operator deems fit.

This comes after the High Court (commercial division) on Tuesday granted an injunction that could prevent Axiata’s Malaysian operations — Celcom Mobile Sdn Bhd’s 5.25 million shares in Tune Talk Sdn Bhd — from being included in the proposed sale of Axiata’s entire shareholding in Celcom Axiata Bhd to Digi.Com as part of the proposed merger between the telcos. 

To recap, Axiata and Digi.Com announced the proposed merger of Celcom Axiata and Digi.Com’s mobile telecommunications network operations on April 8 last year for the second time after the previous attempt in September 2019 failed due to complexities involved in the proposed transaction. 

Later in 2021, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said that it had formally received Digi.Com subsidiary Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd's application involving the proposed merger of Celcom Axiata and Digi.Com's mobile telecommunications network operations, according to Digi.Com and Axiata’s bourse filings on Nov 24.

The consummation of the merger would see a merged entity named Celcom Digi Bhd (CDB), which would continue to be listed on Bursa Malaysia.

Axiata and Digi.Com would have a pro forma equal ownership of about 33.1% each in CDB, and Axiata would receive cash consideration of approximately RM2 billion, of which RM1.7 billion is from Digi.Com and the remaining RM300 million from Digi.Com’s parent company, Norwegian telecommunications giant Telenor ASA.

On Thursday, Axiata and Digi.Com shares closed at RM3.79 and RM3.90, valuing the telcos at RM34.78 billion and RM30.32 billion respectively.

Edited BySurin Murugiah
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