New Zealand’s smallest network operator 2degrees has secured a NZ$165m (US$131m) credit facility according to its acting CEO Stewart Sherriff, quoted by The National Business Review.
Part of the proceeds will be used to repay a US$100m credit line to…
New Zealand’s smallest network operator 2degrees has secured a NZ$165m (US$131m) credit facility according to its acting CEO Stewart Sherriff, quoted by The National Business Review.
Part of the proceeds will be used to repay a US$100m credit line to purchase network equipment from Chinese vendor Huawei.
The remainder of the debt, secured with BNZ, will be used for improvements to its 3G network and for its 4G upgrade, the report said. Huawei will set up its 4G network in 2014.
Sherriff told the newspaper that the number three-operator was now profitable on an EBITDA basis, meaning it won’t require further injections from its investors.
2degrees launched in 2009 and has around 1 million customers which equates to just over 20% of the market. The operator is 60% owned by US venture capital investor Trilogy International Partners. The Hautaki Trust, which represents New Zealand’s Maori population, is also a significant shareholder.
Tragedy struck 2degrees at the end of March when its then CEO Eric Hertz and his wife died in a light aircraft crash. Acting CEO Sherriff said an international search for Hertz’s successor was underway.
