Dhaka: The commercial operation of Robi after its merger with Airtel, the first merger in Bangladesh's telecom sector, started on Wednesday.

Following the merger of Robi and Airtel, the merged company will be known as Robi Axiata Limited. 'Airtel' will remain as an independent product brand of Robi Axiata.

In completing the first telecoms merger as well as the country's largest merger, Axiata now holds 68.7% controlling stake in the combined entity, while Bharti holds 25%. The remaining 6.3% will be held by the existing shareholder, NTT DOCOMO of Japan, said a press release.

The combined entity will operate under the brand name of Robi Axiata Limited and will serve approximately 32.2 million subscribers.

The joint strengths of Robi and Airtel sets the stage for creating the Number One network delivering the widest mobile network coverage across Bangladesh, enhancing its stronghold in the mobile internet segment as well as consolidating its position as the second largest operator in the country.

Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Robi said, ‘We are pleased to have reached the completion phase of the merger with Airtel. We are grateful and offer our utmost appreciation for the support of several parties, particularly our shareholders, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, as well as Robi and Airtel consumers, all of whom made this merger possible’.

Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Axiata said, ‘Axiata's proven track record of successful strategic mergers and integrations in our other markets such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Cambodia has qualified the Group to lead the first telecoms merger and initiate market consolidation in Bangladesh.’

The completion follows the 9 September 2015 announcement of both parties entering into an exclusive discussion to explore possibility of combining the business operations in Bangladesh