Kuala Lumpur, 2 July 2014. In line with Axiata Group Berhad’s (Axiata) strategy to focus on mobile communications, Axiata has entered into an agreement with Samart Corporation Public Company Limited (Samart) to dispose its entire shareholding of approximately 24% of the total issued and outstanding share capital in Samart i-Mobile Public Company Limited (Samart i-Mobile) for total gross consideration of approximately USD88.6 million. Samart is the current shareholder in Samart i-Mobile and currently holds around 52% of the total issued and outstanding share capital in Samart i-Mobile.
Samart i-Mobile is in the business of providing instant wireless information services and mobile content, along with the distribution of mobile phones and accessories. Dato’ Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, President & Group Chief Executive Officer said “We would like to thank Samart i-Mobile for the support throughout our period of investment and we wish them every success for the future.
Since our inception, Axiata has always expressed our intention to exit from non-core businesses, at the most opportune time, and concentrate on our primary business of mobile communications. The divestment of Samart i-Mobile reflects the continuation of our strategic direction. This follows on from the divestment of Samart Corporation in 2010, an IT company and also the shareholder of Samart i-Mobile. We have also exited from our small regional operations in Iran in 2010”.
The SPA is expected to complete within 30 days from the date of the signing. The divestment of Samart i-Mobile is not expected to have any material financial impact on Axiata’s consolidated earnings for the financial year ending 31 December 2014.
ABOUT AXIATA
Axiata is one of the largest Asian telecommunications companies. Axiata has controlling interests in mobile operators in Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Cambodia with significant strategic stakes in India and Singapore. In addition, the Malaysian grown holding company has stakes in non-mobile telecommunication operations in Thailand and Pakistan.
The Group’s mobile subsidiaries and associates operate under the brand name ‘Celcom’ in Malaysia, ‘XL’ in Indonesia, ‘Dialog’ in Sri Lanka, ‘Robi’ in Bangladesh, ‘Smart’ in Cambodia, ‘Idea’ in India and ‘M1’ in Singapore.
The Group, including its subsidiaries and associates, has close to 244 million mobile subscribers in Asia. The Group revenue for 2013 was USD5.8 billion. The Group provides employment to over 20,000 people across Asia. Axiata’s vision is to be a regional champion by 2015 by piecing together the best throughout the region in connectivity, technology and talent, uniting them towards a single goal: Advancing Asia.
Axiata was awarded the Frost & Sullivan 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 Asia Pacific ICT Award for Best Telecom Group and the Telecom Asia Best Regional Mobile Group 2010 and 2011 for its operations in multiple Asian markets.
Issued By:
Corporate Communications, Group Strategy, Axiata Group Berhad
Axiata Centre, 9 Jalan Stesen Sentral 5, Kuala Lumpur Sentral
50470 Kuala Lumpur
