AIS buys broadband operator TTTBB for 32B baht

Thailand’s largest telecom announced this morning its purchase of broadband operator Triple T Broadband for THB32 billion. 

In a regulatory notification to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Advanced Info Service, or AIS, said it would acquire the company in a stock swap with its owner, Jasmine International.

The acquisition would make AIS the second largest broadband operator in the country with roughly 4.3 million subscribers by combining AIS’s nearly 2 million subscribers with Triple T’s 2.4 million. 

The move would enable AIS to expand its broadband business in rural areas through the fiber optic network owned by a subsidiary of Jasmine International.

In morning trading, AIS (ADVANC) shares were up THB3.50, or 1.77%.

If approved, the deal will keep AIS ahead of rival True Corp., whose planned merger with Total Access Communication, or DTAC, would…