Incumbent Telstra has completed its US$697m acquisition of Asian data centre and undersea cable operator Pacnet after receiving regulatory approvals.
The Australian telco said it will refinance Pacnet’s bank debt and existing US$350m high yield notes…
Incumbent Telstra has completed its US$697m acquisition of Asian data centre and undersea cable operator Pacnet after receiving regulatory approvals.
The Australian telco said it will refinance Pacnet’s bank debt and existing US$350m high yield notes “as soon as practicable”.
Brendon Riley, Telstra’s group executive of global enterprise and services, said the deal doubles its customers in Asia, while greatly expanding its network and data centre capabilities across the region.
“This includes the addition of the largest privately owned intra-Asia cable network, 29 data centres and the ability to further grow our China operations through the existing joint venture,” he said.
“The acquisition provides us greater specialisation and scale, including the delivery of enhanced services, such as software-defined networking and opens up significant incremental opportunities for our business.”
Although the deal has been completed, Telstra is still awaiting regulatory approval to integrate Pacnet’s assets in the US.
The acquisition was first announced in December, not long after Telstra CEO David Thodey said it planned to use a war chest of up to A$5.1bn (US$4bn) to expand in Asia. The group has since agreed to buy satellite media services provider Globecast Australia to boost its DTH business.
For Pacnet’s owners, which include Ashmore Investment Management, Spinnaker Capital and Clearwater Capital Partners, the sale is a significant climb down from the US$1bn, plus debt, price tag that they had reportedly put on the company. The group was reported to have hired Credit Suisse in June to run the sale.
Pacnet has headquarters in Hong Kong and Singapore, and more than 1,200 employees across 13 countries, including Australia, China, the Netherlands, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and the US.
