Vocus Group has agreed to buy the fixed-line fibre networks from TPG Telecom for $5.25 billion, with the goal of positioning the company as one of Australia’s key digital infrastructure operators.
The acquisition will almost double Vocus’s fibre network, to more than 50,000km of owned or leased fibre connecting close to 20,000 buildings across capital cities.
The deal includes a submarine cable from Sydney to Guam along with TGP’s wholesale residential broadband assets, which includes fibre in major capital cities, plus Ballarat, Mildura, and Geelong.
“This agreement is transformative for Vocus and is an important step towards creating a more competitive landscape for the Australian telecommunications industry,” Vocus interim CEO Jarrod Nink said.
“Combining TPG’s highly complementary assets with Vocus’ existing footprint will create a key digital infrastructure operator in Australia, providing significant scale to drive new opportunities to compete and better serve customers across the region.”
TPG, whose brands include Vodafone Australia, iiNet and Internode, expects the transaction to result in net cash proceeds of $4.65 billion to $4.75 billion, money it will use on yet-to-be-determined business investments.
“The deal unlocks the value of our fixed infrastructure assets while strengthening our financial position and creating a more focused and streamlined business with significant optionality for the optimisation of our capital structure,” TPG Telecom CEO Inaki Berroeta said.
It was great news for large Australian customers of fixed telecommunications services because it would create a challenger of scale in the enterprise connectivity sector, Mr Berroeta said.
Under the deal, Vocus has agreed to supply network services to TPG for at least 15 years at a fixed fee of $130 million a year.
TPG shares were down 0.9 per cent to $5.045 late on Monday morning.
Vocus used to be listed on the ASX but was taken private by Macquarie Asset Management and Aware Super in 2021.
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