Norway’s Telenor and Malaysia’s Axiata, two telecommunications companies, engaged in talks to merge their Asian operations into a $40bn group. It was anticipated that Telenor, based on equity value, will own 56.5% in the new company and Axiata will own 43.5%, both parties acknowledging that this is preliminary subject to adjustments and due diligence. “Today we announce that Telenor and Axiata are in discussions on joining forces in Asia, one of the most dynamic and innovative regions in the world. Together, we aim to create a leading and well-diversified pan-Asian telecom and infrastructure company with substantial synergy potential and strong regional operations. It is Telenor’s strategy to develop and create value from our core telco assets in the Nordic and Asian region. This potential merger is in line with that strategy, set by the Board and Management,” said Gunn Wærsted, Chair of Telenor Group. The talks were abandoned in September 2019.