The boards of Thailand-based mobile carriers Advanced Info Service (AIS) and Thaicom have urged investors to reject acquisition offers under the proposed merger of their respective controlling entities. This comes as part of an ongoing restructuring process by Gulf Energy Development, the largest shareholder of Thaicom, and Intouch Holdings, the controlling entity of Advanced Info Service.
In July 2024, Gulf Energy and Intouch announced plans to merge, aiming to form a new company valued at 1.037 trillion baht ($30 billion). This move is designed to enhance operations and optimize investments between the two companies. The merger has already been approved by shareholders of Gulf, led by Thai billionaire Sarath Ratanavadi, who is the country’s fifth-richest individual, with a net worth of $15.1 billion according to Forbes.
A tender offer was made by Gulf, Intouch, and Singtel to acquire Advanced Info Service, initially valuing the company at 216.30 baht per share, later lowered to 211.43 baht. However, Advanced Info’s financial adviser found the revised price to be below its estimated valuation range of 229.55 to 285.70 baht per share, leading the company to ask investors to reject the offer. In response, Gulf Energy confirmed the tender offer price is final and they do not plan to revise it.
Similarly, Gulf, Intouch, and Sarath made a similar tender offer to purchase 58.9% of Thaicom at 11 baht per share. Thaicom has also recommended that investors vote against the deal, pointing to its rising stock price since the merger announcement. Thaicom’s shares ended flat at 12.3 baht on Thursday.
The rejection of the offers by both companies’ boards has not disrupted the merger process. Varorith Chirachon, head of investment research at SCB Asset Management, stated that the market had anticipated this move and noted that the stock prices for both companies are higher than the offered prices, meaning the rejection of the tender offers does not pose a significant risk to the merger.