Telenor Group said that it has reached a mutual agreement with Axiata Group to end discussions regarding a combination of their telecom and infrastructure assets in Asia. It said that over the last four months, both parties have been working on due diligence and finalising transaction agreements, aiming for completion in the third quarter of 2019. Because of "some complexities involved in the proposed transaction", they have mutually agreed to end the discussions.
Telenor added that both parties still acknowledge the strong strategic rationale of the proposed transaction and they do not rule out that a transaction could be possible in the future. The two sides do not intend to provide further comments, Telenor added.
Under the proposals first unveiled in May, Telenor had been expected to own 56.5 percent of the merged company and Axiata, 43.5 percent. It would have served nearly 300 million customers using some 60,000 towers in nine countries in Asia from a Malaysian HQ. The two sides estimated synergies at around USD 5 billion, or NOK 43 billion.
