A takeover bid for satellite operator Thaicom has been made by Gulf Edge, Gulf Energy and Intouch Holdings.Gulf Edge already owns 41.14 per cent of Thaicom and if successful with its bid says that it will maintain the current business plan and the business will stay listed on the Thai stock exchange.Thaicom, and its financial advisors, are advising shareholders not to accept the bid which is for 11 baht per share (about €0.30).In July 2024, Thai power producer Gulf Energy Development, the largest shareholder of Thaicom, and Intouch Holdings, which controls Thai-based cellular carrier Advanced Info Service, announced their intent to merge to create a new company for maximising benefits for both the firms and improving operations and investments.The merger of Gulf and Intouch, already approved by shareholders of Thai billionaire Sarath Ratanavadi’s (Thailand’s fifth richest individual) power company, would create a new entity valued at 1.037 trillion baht (about $30 billion).Gulf owns about 47.4 per cent stake in Intouch, followed by Singapore Telecommunication (Singtel) which has an around 25 per cent interest.Thaicom, in the 9-months trading to September 30 2024, reported an operating loss of 138.2 million baht on 1.86 billion baht in revenue, down about 6.8 per cent from the previous year. The company earns more than 96 per cent of its revenue from its satellite capacity.Thaicom has two satellites on order: Thaicom 9 from Astranis, and Thaicom 10 from Airbus Defence & Space. Both are slated to launch towards the end of 2025 or early 2026.
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