News
The share price of TPG Telecom has risen by 12% since the news
Vocus has made a non-binding offer of AU$6.3 billion ($4.2 billion) to buy rival TPG Telecom’s enterprise, government, and wholesale assets.
“Discussions between the parties remain incomplete and transaction terms are subject to ongoing negotiation,” said TPG in a statement. “Securityholders should be aware that the Board of TPG has not made any decision to accept any offer, and there is no certainty an agreed transaction will eventuate. If a transaction is able to be agreed, it would also remain subject to a range of conditions, including relevant regulatory approvals.”
Last year, this unit made up 18% of TPG Telecoms’s total fiscal revenue, at AU$5.52 billion ($3.65 billion).
The deal includes the company’s wholesale fixed infrastructure arm Vision Network, which covers roughly 410,000 premises with a combination of fibre-to-the-premises, fibre-to-the-building, fibre-to-the-node, and hybrid fibre coaxial technologies.
TPG launched a strategic review of Vision Network in October last year, a move which reportedly drew interest from numerous potential investors.
The offer from Vocus is indicative, highly conditional and non-binding, and is subject to various conditions, including debt financing, due diligence, document finalisation, and the approval from both company boards.
Vocus had been given until 6th September to complete its due diligence.
Last year, TPG Telecom was the last of Australia’s three largest telcos to sell off their mobile tower infrastructure. The firm sold its mobile towers and rooftop infrastructure to OMERS in a for AU$950 million ($627 million) deal, with TPG using the funds to pay down its debt pile.
The sold portfolio was around 21% of TPG Telecom’s mobile network coverage in Australia, with the other 79% provided by other tower companies.
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