(Reuters) -TPG Telecom, one of Australia’s top telecom firms, on Tuesday said it received an offer from Macquarie-backed rival Vocus to buy some of its non-mobile fibre assets for about A$6.3 billion ($4.21 billion), sending its shares up nearly 12%.
TPG Telecom said that Vocus made a non-binding offer to acquire certain Enterprise, Government and Wholesale (EGW) assets and associated fixed infrastructure assets, including wholesale broadband business Vision Network.
Shares of TPG Telecom ended 11.6% higher at A$5.600 after resuming trading, marking their biggest intraday jump ever and finishing the day at their highest closing level since May 15.
The offer comes after TPG Telecom’s asset swap deal with bigger rival Telstra Group – which involves Telstra buying spectrum and transmission towers from TPG, and the latter selling 4G and 5G coverage using Telstra infrastructure – is facing strong regulatory opposition.
The EGW unit contributed around 18% to TPG’s total fiscal 2022 revenue of A$5.42 billion, while Vision Network currently has a network of more than 410,000 homes in six major Australian capitals and three regional Victorian cities.
TPG Telecom said it has provided Vocus exclusive due diligence, which is set to expire on September 6.
Earlier in the day, the Australian Financial Review reported Macquarie Asset Management (MAM), through Vocus, was in talks with TPG Telecom to buy all of its fibre assets except mobile assets, which would create a combined entity with an A$8 billion ($5.35 billion) to A$9 billion enterprise valuation.
MAM did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while TPG said its board “has not made any decision to accept any offer, and there is no certainty an agreed transaction will eventuate.”
A spokesperson for Vocus said “discussions with TPG are confidential, subject to conditions and regulatory approvals. Accordingly, there is no certainty a transaction will be agreed”.
($1 = 1.4977 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
