| Airtel | |
| Former Name: | Warid Bangladesh (2007- 2010) Airtel Bangladesh Limited (2010- 2016) |
| Predecessor: | Warid Telecom Bangladesh Airtel Bangladesh Limited |
| Successor: | Robi Axiata Limited |
| Fate: | Merged into Robi Axiata Limited |
| Industry: | Telecommunication |
| Products: | Mobile telephony Internet services |
| Parent: | Axiata Group Berhad (61.82%) Bharti Airtel (28.18%) Public holds (10%) |
| Homepage: | Airtel Robi |
| Area Served: | Bangladesh |
| Hq Location City: | Dhaka |
| Hq Location Country: | Bangladesh |
Airtel (Bengali: এয়ারটেল) is a telecom sub-brand of Robi Axiata in Bangladesh, which was managed by Bharti Airtel under the banner, 'Airtel Bangladesh Limited' until November 2016. In November 2016, Airtel merged its operations with Robi Axiata Limited. Following the merger, Airtel remained as a product brand of Robi Axiata Ltd. in Bangladesh. Since then, Robi Axiata is the brand licensing holder for Airtel brand in Bangladesh. Previously Airtel Bangladesh acquired Warid Bangladesh in 2010. After the merge, Robi Axiata marketed Airtel as "the #1 network of friends" targeting the youth.
In December 2005, Warid Telecom International LLC, an Abu Dhabi based consortium, paid US$50 million to obtain a GSM license from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). In doing so, Warid Telecom became the sixth mobile phone operator in Bangladesh.
In 2010, Warid Telecom sold a majority 70% stake in the company to India's Bharti Airtel for US$300 million. Bharti's proposal also included an initial $300 million investment in Warid to create new shares in the company.[1] [2] The BTRC approved the deal on 4 Jan 2010.[3] Bharti Airtel Limited took control of the company and its board and re-branded the company's services under its 'Airtel' brand starting on 20 December 2010.
In March 2013, Warid Telecom sold its remaining 30% share to Bharti Airtel's Singapore-based concern Bharti Airtel Holdings Pte Limited for US$85 million.[4] [5] [6]
On 8 September 2013, Airtel Bangladesh licensed 5 MHz of the 3G spectrum for US$1.25 million.
In January 2016, Robi and Airtel Bangladesh announced that they intended to merge their Bangladesh operations. The combined entity, called Robi, would serve about 32 million subscribers. Axiata Group was to own 68.7% of the shares, Bharti Enterprises was to own 25.0%, while the remaining 6.3% would be owned by NTT DoCoMo.[7] [8] The merger was completed in November 2016.[9]
In June 2020, Japanese telecom company NTT DoCoMo left Bangladesh by selling its entire stakes in Robi Axiata Ltd to Bharti Airtel. Which has been with Robi from 2008, by acquiring 30 percent stake in that company. At the time of departure, it had only 6.31 percent shares and completely empty handed despite investing $350 million in the country.[10] [11]