dtac and True have completed their amalgamation process
They received their commercial license from the Department of Business Development, Ministry of Commerce under the name "True Corporation Public Company Limited".
This follows the joint shareholders meeting of dtac and True on 22 February 2023, which considered and resolved matters relating to the new company formed as a result of the amalgamation including registered capital, number of shares, share price, and paid-up capital.
As of today (March 1, 2023), the new corporate name has been applied to the Department of Business Development, Ministry of Commerce for approval.
Furthermore, the board of directors of the new company has appointed Manat Manavutiveth as the Chief Executive Officer and Sharad Mehrotra as Deputy Chief Executive Officer today.
Telenor announces the completion of the amalgamation of dtac and True in Thailand
Telenor Asia announces the completion of the
amalgamation of the telco operations of True and dtac in Thailand. The transaction is the largest telco merger in Southeast Asia by combined enterprise value.
The new company is well placed to serve Thailand’s increasing demand for high-speed data and capture growth opportunities in a fast-changing digital region.
According to Telenor Asia's Digital Lives Decoded 2022 survey, 82 % of Thais are expected to significantly increase their mobile usage over the coming years, more so than in any other market surveyed.
By combining the strengths of True and dtac, the new
company will be a future-fit leading telecom tech company at the forefront of digitalisation in Thailand.
“The completion of the transaction is a new milestone in Thailand’s impressive digital journey. The pace of innovation is expected to accelerate, creating growth opportunities for the country. Telenor is ready to support True Corporation with access to advanced technology, a network of global partners and cutting-edge industry insights. The new company will combine the strengths of dtac and True to deliver high-quality connectivity
and leverage the latest developments in 5G, AI and IoT. With the completion of the mergers in Thailand and Malaysia, Telenor is expanding its role in Asia, serving over 200 million customers through leading local champions well placed to create value for customers and society,” says Jørgen A. Rostrup, Executive Vice President of Telenor Group and Head of Telenor Asia.
On a proforma basis for the financial year 2022: True Corporation served an estimated 55 million mobile customers, 5 million broadband connections and 3.2 million pay-tv subscribers and had EBITDA of USD 2.4 billion and revenues of USD 6.2 billion. The new
company will have an Enterprise Value of more than USD 20 billion.
Following completion, the new company will be able to leverage partners, vendors, and local talents to bring more benefits to customers on an expanded network footprint,
distribution touchpoints and a broader range of products and services.
To accelerate and stimulate growth in Thailand’s digital ecosystem, the new company, together with partners, intends to raise USD 200 million in venture capital, supporting promising digital startups focusing on new products and services that benefit Thai consumers.
Telenor and CP Group will be equal partners with a 30.3 % ownership stake each in the new company. The Board of Directors of True Corporation will consist of 11 directors.
Suphachai Chearavanont has been appointed as Chair of the Board of Directors and Jørgen A. Rostrup will be Deputy Chair, in addition to chairing the Executive Committee.
About Manat Manavutiveth
Manat Manavutiveth, a new-generation executive with extensive experience in the telecommunication and service industries is only 48 years old.
During his over 20 years working under True Group, Manat was responsible for various key businesses for the organization including implementing a wireless network system which is the core foundation to expand True Group’s key businesses.
He also has experience in managing commercial aspects including mobile, online and media businesses and successfully grows and achieves all the tasks, proving from his time as the Group Managing Director for Regional Management that he had an outstanding marketing performance with strong relationships to all related stakeholders, particularly in taking care and increasing value for customers. He brought analytic technology to enhance marketing management.
In terms of strategy and management, Manat has intelligently propelled convergence strategy for home internet service with the mobile phone, home internet, Pay TV and digital content platform to increase more value to customers through various campaigns such as Double Play, Triple Play and Quadruple Play as the key mechanism to penetrate the market and expand distribution channels nationwide, resulting in revenue growth and continuously strengthening both core and new businesses of True Group in the regional sector.
He also never compromises on quality as it is the heart of valuable products & services and conducts continuous improvement of business management and human resources management. He also believes that people & teamwork is the heart of the organization’s sustainability and achievement.
From his proof of success, Manat was appointed as the President (Co) of True Group in 2021.
Manat graduated Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering from King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang with Master's Degree in Electrical Communications Engineering from Syracuse University and Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA.
About Sharad Mehrotra
Sharad Mehrotra is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of True. He comes from dtac where he served as CEO since 2020. Sharad brings extensive experience from multiple leadership roles in the telecom sector across Asia, including CEO of Telenor Myanmar and CEO of Telenor India. Prior to this, he held the position of Head of Asia Distribution for Telenor Group and served companies such as Ericsson, Aircel and BPL Telecom.
Sharad Mehrotra holds a BE degree in Electronics Engineering from Pune University and an MBA in Marketing Management.
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