OSLO (Reuters) -Malaysian telecoms firm Axiata Group and Norway’s Telenor ASA have received clearance from the Securities Commission Malaysia for the proposed merger of their local units, Telenor said on Thursday.
Axiata and Telenor announced last year the planned tie-up between Celcom Axiata and DiGi.Com, forming a new Malaysian market leader in which the two parent companies would own 33.1% each.
Two sources with knowledge of the deal, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, last year told Reuters the deal would form a company with an enterprise value of $15 billion.
“The completion of the proposed transaction will now be subject to approval of Bursa Malaysia and Axiata and Digi shareholders,” Telenor said in a statement on Thursday.
The transaction is expected to close within year end, it added.
(Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Stine Jacobsen)