As last week ended, some major competitive fiber M&A news came out down in Australia. TPG plans to buy iiNet in a AU$1.4B deal that could create a stronger #2 to the incumbent, Telstra just as the evolving NBN attempts to level the playing field.
Over the weekend though, some have speculated that there is more to come. Credit Suisse and others think the price is low enough to draw in a competitive bid. Other potential buyers would be M2 or Singtel’s Optus division, both of which compete directly with iiNet.
That assumes of course that regulators don’t squelch any such first on competitive concerns, as several of these possibilities would turn 4 into 3 — a hurdle that regulators sometimes balk at.
Both TPG and M2 have been acquisitive over the years, as TPG bought AAPT not so long ago, while M2 bought Primus’s Australian business.
But it probably won’t be Telstra coming in to bid, given the regulatory hurdles that would face. Telstra has been aiming overseas to find growth opportunities, with its proposed acquisition of Pacnet still awaiting the necessary approvals.
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Categories: Fiber Networks · Mergers and Acquisitions
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Is TPG (or even TPG + iiNet) really #2 to Telstra? Isn’t Optus?
Optus is #2 but iiNet + TPG would be a bit bigger than Optus.
Hot market down under.