Vodafone has agreed to acquire its latest landline operator, New Zealand’s TelstraClear, for NZ$840m ($663m), paving the way for a full quad play offering.
It has acquired the unit from Australia’s Telstra, adding wireline broadband capabilities to its market leading cellco operation. It has 2.4m mobile customers, with one million on 3G services. TelstraClear does not divulge its subscriber numbers, but Vodafone claims it is New Zealand’s second largest fixed operator after the incumbent, Telecom NZ.
As well as new customers and bundling opportunities, Vodafone will gain a 6,600 kilometer fiber backbone connecting the country’s top 20 cities, which will be valuable for mobile backhaul as well as corporate services. It also gains a local access network of 2,000 kilometers of fiber and 4,500 of copper, as well as a cable TV system in the cities of Wellington and Christchurch.
‘The combined business will be ideally positioned to capture the benefits of the structural changes underway in the New Zealand market,’ Vodafone said in a statement. ‘This includes the roll-out of a wholesale fibre access network to 75% of New Zealanders by 2019 under the government’s Ultra-Fast Broadband Initiative, which will allow Vodafone New Zealand to purchase last mile wholesale access outside of TelstraClear’s existing footprint on equal terms with Telecom New Zealand.’
Vodafone has previously bought or partnered with wireline operators in other countries, especially those, such as Germany, where the main growth opportunities lay in bundled services rather than the mobile-only model which made Vodafone’s name.
Also from Vodafone, the UK giant is reported to be prepared to make an offer for TeliaSonera’s stake in the Spanish mobile operator Yoigo, though it may face competition from France Telecom and America Movil. TeliaSonera has hired Deutsche Bank to manage the sale of its 76% stake in Yoigo, sources say, in a deal that would value the sale at €1bn. While the two European candidates, both of which have existing Spanish operations, are seen as the frontrunners, Mexico-based America Movil has been looking to expand in Europe and has recently taken stakes in KPN and Telekom Austria.