The telcos confirmed that the new entity will be called True Corp.
The boards of Thai operator Total Access Communication (Dtac) and True Corp. agreed that their merged entity will be called True Corp.
The two carriers informed the Thai Stock Exchange that they will have a meeting on February 23 to conclude final matters before closing.
Also, Manat Manavutiveth, the current co-president of True, has been nominated to be the new CEO of the merged company.
The two companies expect to fully complete the merger process by the end of the first quarter of 2023. The new company will have a combined subscriber base of more than 51 million customers, surpassing Thailand’s current largest telco AIS, which currently has 43.7 million subscribers.
Both DTAC and True will serve their customers separately for the next three years, which was requested by the Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).
“Both principal shareholders Charoen Pokphand Group and Telenor Group believe in the benefits of the transaction and the new company’s positive impact on Thailand’s telecom and technology sector. Before the transaction completes, companies jointly owned by CP Group and Telenor Group will offer to buy shares from shareholders which dissented to the amalgamation. This applies to around 10% of the existing shareholders in Dtac. CP group and Telenor aims for an equal ownership stake of around 30% in the new company,” Telenor said in a release.
“This transaction is another important building block in setting up a strong Asian entity. The transaction creates a leading telecom-tech company in Thailand which will both empower the local society by providing world class services and innovation, but also create value for Telenor shareholders by strengthening the portfolio in Asia,” Telenor added.
In October 2022, NBTC voted to approve the merger of True Corp and Dtac. The merger, which had been first announced in 2021, would consolidate Thai telecom down to two major players: AIS, the current market leader, and True Corp once consolidated. AIS currently has 44% of Thailand’s mobile subscriber base, while True has a 34% market share and Dtac a 21%. True is backed by Thailand’s largest private company, Charoen Pokphand, as well China Mobile. Dtac is almost half-owned by Telenor, the state-controlled telco of Norway.
