30th Aug 2018 06:30
CANBERRA (Alliance News) - Vodafone Australia and TPG Telecom have agreed to a merger worth AUD15 billion, about USD11 billion, to form a new telecommunications giant, the companies announced on Thursday.
The Vodafone Group PLC arm is Australia's third-largest mobile operator with 6 million subscribers and TPG is the second-largest internet service provider with more than 1.9 million subscribers.
The merger is an effort to take on local telecoms giants Telstra and Optus, who are both internet service providers and mobile operators.
The new company will be called TPG Telecom Ltd and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Vodafone Australia will have a majority 50.1% stake, while TPG will hold the remainder in the new company with combined value of about AUD15 billion and annual revenue of AUD6 billion.
The merger is expected to be completed next year and is subject to approval from regulators, including the competition watchdog.
"If the merger is approved, it will create even more opportunities for us as a combined entity to drive value for Australian consumers," Ben McIntosh, chief commercial officer for Vodafone Australia, said in a statement.
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