TIME announces plans for a further strategic investment in Thailand
KUCHING: TIME dotCom Bhd (TIME) has submitted a strategic investment proposal to Symphony Communication Public Company Ltd (Symphony), one of the leading publicly listed fixedline telecommunication service providers in Thailand.
TIME’s investment, which is subject to receiving relevant shareholder and regulatory approvals, would be up to 2.2 billion baht or approximately RM280 million and would provide TIME with a shareholding of up to 49 per cent in Symphony.
TIME has received a statement of support from existing shareholders of Symphony who hold approximately 47 per cent of the shares.
The investment would be accomplished in two phases. In the first, TIME would acquire shares at THB 12.20 per share from existing shareholders through a Partial Voluntary Tender Offer (PVTO) for 37 per cent or 1.468 billion baht of the shares outstanding.
In the second phase, following completion of the PVTO, TIME would participate in a Rights Offering (RO) of approximately one billion baht to be launched by Symphony and priced at up to 8.80 baht per share. The overall transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Afzal Abdul Rahim, TIME’s Commander-in-Chief, commented that “TIME has long been an admirer of Symphony’s success and we are delighted to now be able to cement our partnership by proposing this strategic investment.
“We are very encouraged by the potential of the Thai market, especially given the launch of the Digital Economy Masterplan and the development of the Asean Economic Community, and look forward to working with the team at Symphony to grow the company to the next level.”
“The board of Symphony is excited to have received this proposal from TIME,” commented Teerarat Pantarasutra, Symphony’s president. “We look forward to learning from TIME’s experience in other markets and to their help in launching new market segments and products in Thailand”.
The funds raised in the RO will be used to expand and strengthen Symphony’s nationwide fibre optic network and launch new products and services.
Separately, the Malaysia-Cambodia-Thailand submarine cable system (MCT), of which Symphony is a founding consortium member, is expected to enter service within the coming months.
Chris Wilson, TIME’s Asean chief executive officer commented that “Symphony’s terrestrial and subsea network assets will integrate seamlessly with our own network and help to realise TIME’s vision of building a strong, unified, pan-Asean network to support the needs of customers across the region.”
TIME’s investment in Symphony is part of its regionalisation strategy that will see it invest in telecom and data centre businesses across Asean. “We have always maintained that Asean has huge potential,” commented Afzal, “and we expect the investments that we are making in the region to enhance the Group’s future growth and performance.”
Symphony would be the Group’s second investment in Thailand, following the acquisition of a stake in KIRZ Company Ltd in 2015.
TIME also currently holds a 45.27 per cent stake in CMC Telecommunications Infrastructure Corporation, a fast expanding network and data centre operator in Vietnam, and is nearing roll-out completion of its pan-island fibre optic network in Singapore.