Axiata Group and PT Sinar Mas Group are close to agreeing a merger agreement of their Indonesian mobile units.
As reported by Bloomberg, Malaysian telco Axiata and Indonesian conglomerate Sinar Mas could even finalize an agreement this week.
It emerged earlier this year that the two carriers were in talks, with Axiata confirming negotiations some weeks later via a stock exchange filing.
The company said in May that it had "entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to mutually explore a proposed merger of XL Axiata and Smartfren to create a new entity.
Should a deal be reached, a merger would create a new entity with close to 100 million mobile customers.
A deal would also represent more market consolidation in the country, following the merger of CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. and Qatar’s Ooredoo to create Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison in late 2021/early 2022.
Malaysian-based XL Axiata has close to 60 million subscribers in Indonesia. PT Smartfren Telecom has an estimated subscriber base of 36 million.
Earlier this year, Axiata confirmed it will sell its entire stake in its subsidiary Edotco Myanmar Ltd for $150 million.
Telkomsel is Indonesia's biggest mobile carrier with around 158.4 million subscribers, followed by Indosat, which has more than 100 million.
