AIS completes $908 million acquisition of Triple T Broadband
End-user service supplier Advanced Info Service has completed the acquisition of triangular T communications provider Triple T Broadband and a financial fund for 32.4 billion baht (approximately $908 million) to expand its network in Thailand.
![A customer on his mobile phone stands in front of a sign for Advanced Info Service (AIS) in a ... [+] shopping mall in downtown Bangkok, Thailand, on February 25, 2010.
Udo Weitz/Bloomberg](/uploaded_images/b2717e61c584e55a7c7bc5af8dcf07fa_1656994985.jpg)
Advanced Info Service—backed by billionaire Sarath Ratanavadi's Gulf Energy Development and Southeast Asia's biggest telco Singtel—is buying Triple T Broadband and an infrastructure fund for 32 billion baht ($908 million) to expand the reach of its network across Thailand.
AIS will purchase Triple T from Jasmine International for 19.5 billion baht, and buy a 19% stake in Jasmine Broadband Internet Infrastructure Fund for 12.9 billion baht, according to Tee Seeumpornroj, the chief financial officer of AIS.
Tee said that the acquisition will improve the quality of service for broadband customers by increasing its availability in new areas that are targeting upcountry and non-city areas. This is consistent with our business strategy to grow the broadband business and develop a fiber infrastructure throughout the nation.
AIS's Advanced Wireless Network had 1.9 million subscribers as of March, compared with True's 4.6 million subscribers. AIS could lose its position as the country’s biggest mobile operator if a merger between True and Telenor ASA goes through, which is backed by billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont's Charoen Pokphand Group and China Mobile.
Sarath, who last year acquired a controlling interest in AIS and its parent company InTouch through his Gulf Energy company, is expanding into telecommunications and digital industries. His net worth was $11.1 billion as of the latest Forbes data on real-time billionaires.
