Thai operators True Corp and dtac have pushed ahead with their proposed merger and highlighted next month they will seek to overcome their next major hurdle in gaining shareholder approval.
The companies will hold a joint shareholder’s meeting on April 4 to secure shareholder approval and come up with a new brand name for the merged business. After shareholder voting and approval, both operators need creditor approval which has the power to object to the deal in two months.
The merger is expected to be sealed by September with the assumption the merger will see regulatory approval. The merger does raise competition concerns as it will leave Thailand with two large operators, as three to four is considered the sweet spot for market competition.
The operators say the proposed merger will boost service quality by combining spectrum and infrastructure assets throughout Thailand, and gain the new firm a foothold when deploying expensive 5G gear.
True and dtac’s board approved the merger in February, with the combined company to become the largest operator with market share of over 50% with around 95 million subscribers in total.
