Company created by merger of telecom giants to retain True Corporation name
The newly formed entity after the merger of two telecom giants will be called True Corporation Plc.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) was informed on Friday of the decision of the boards of Total Access Communication Plc (DTAC) and True Corporation Plc.
The decision to retain the current name of True lays to rest earlier rumours that the merged entity will be named True D Plc.
The merger of Thailand's second- and third–largest mobile network operators was first announced in November 2021.
The deal, which would make the combined entity the largest mobile network ahead of current market leader AIS and reduce the mobile service provider market to a duopoly, has been strongly opposed by academics and civil society groups as detrimental to the interests of consumers and the general public.
Telecom watchdog National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission acknowledged the merger in October last year but set certain conditions, which included True and DTAC retaining their brands without sharing their frequency for three years.
The boards of True and DTAC and their shareholders will meet on February 23 to vote on the new board of directors of the merged entity. The proposed list comprises 11 executives from both companies. They are: Suphachai Chearavanont (chairman of the board), Joergen Christian Arentz Rostrup, Kittipong Kittayarak, Kamonwan Wipulakorn; Kalin Sarasin, Pratana Mongkolkul, Adhiruth Thothaveesansuk, Tongqing Gao, Tone Ripel, Lars Erik Tellmann and Teerapon Tanomsakyut.
The companies have also nominated Manat Manavutiveth, the current co-president of True, as the chief executive officer of the new company, and Sharad Mehrotra, the current chief executive of DTAC, as his deputy. Meanwhile, DTAC’s Nakul Sehgal and True’s Yupa Leewongcharoen were nominated as co-chief financial officers.
A news source said on Friday that some DTAC employees were shocked and disappointed with the board’s decision to abandon the brand name, as the company had been making profits under its own brand for several years.
