Telecom will receive $A140 million ($NZ175 million) from the
sale of assets in Australia, though the company has failed to
sell all of its AAPT business.
Telecom said today that it is selling the consumer division
of AAPT to internet service provider iiNet for $A60 million
and it is selling an 18.2 percent stake in iiNet for $A70
million. Yesterday it said it was selling its 10.1 percent
stake in Macquarie Telecom for $A9.9m.
The deals were leaked to Australian media. Telecom shares
resumed trading after the announcement today.
Investors have been hoping that the company would sell all of
its AAPT business in a $A300 million plus deal.
"It has been a disaster of investment for Telecom and a lot
of shareholder wealth has been destroyed," Grant Williamson,
director of Hamilton, Hindin, Greene, said yesterday.
Telecom said AAPT would now focus all of its efforts on
leveraging its network infrastructure to deliver superior
voice, data and internet solutions to the wholesale and
business market.
The sale of its consumer division would have a negative
impact on AAPT's 2011 earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation and amortisation of around $A10m.
Telecom chief executive Paul Reynolds said the transactions
rationalised the company's non-core assets and repositioned
AAPT's business to a network-centric wholesale and corporate
business that was well positioned for future growth.
Australian media is speculating Telecom could sell the
remaining AAPT business into the country's national broadband
network at a later date.
AAPT is estimated to have cost Telecom NZ shareholders more
than $2 billion.
Telecom shares rose a cent to $2 when they resumed trading.
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