The NZX-listed firm will fund the deal through the issue of $850 million worth of new shares, cash and debt facilities of $950m. Retail investors will be able to participate via a $100m offer.
The deal gives One NZ an enterprise value of $5.9 billion.
Vodafone PLC sold its New Zealand operation to Infratil and Brookfield in a 2019 deal that valued the business at $3.4 billion.
Each took a 49.95 per cent stake, with chief executive Jason Paris and other senior managers holding the balance.
The deal announced this morning comes on the heels of Infratil delivering a strong full-year result, underpinned by strong performances by data centre operator CDC and One NZ.
One NZ - which booked $28m in rebranding costs during the period ahead of its change from Vodafone NZ on April 1 - saw its ebitdaf rise 9.7 per cent to $527.8m, ahead of Forsyth Barr’s estimate of $520m in a year that saw high-margin roaming revenue return to 80 per cent of pre-Covid levels and the partial sale of One NZ’s celltower network.
Infratil said even higher profits were ahead. One NZ operating earnings for FY2024 were forecast at $580m to 620m - handily ahead of Jarden’s estimate ($540m) and ForBarr’s punt ($550m).
Net debt at end of FY2023 was $1.38b from the year-ago $1.34b.
Revenue was $1.98b, nearly flat on FY2022′s $1.97b.
One NZ kicked off its new financial year on April 1 with its rebrand from Vodafone NZ, and the its announcement it would partner with Elon Musk’s Starlink for 100 per cent mobile coverage - initially with text messaging - from late next year. 2degrees and Spark have since revealed deals with putative Starlink rival Lynk.
A retail offer booklet is due on June 13. The closing date for share applications is June 27.
Infratil says it expects the deal to close shortly after the share placement.
