NewsBite

Vocus Group

November

Venture capital investor James Spenceley.

Ruslan Kogan saves director from embarrassment

The director got back onto the retailer’s board by the skin of his teeth (and the help of management).

  • Mark Di Stefano

October

Telstra is ploughing 14,000 kilometres of fibre into the earth for a new intercity communications network.

Australia’s fibre backbone race picks up speed

The Vocus Group’s $5 billion purchase of fibre networks reflects the intensifying competition among companies installing the cables that will handle data for the nation’s digital needs.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady was paid $5.6 million in 2023-24

Telstra investors protest against executive bonuses

Not all Telstra shareholders are happy about its executive bonuses after the telco’s annual profit was hit by hefty write-downs and restructuring costs.

  • Jenny Wiggins
TPG Telecom CEO Inaki Berroeta has finally struck a deal with Vocus to sell off more of the company’s fibre networks.

‘Transformative’: Vocus buys TPG fibre networks for $5.25b

Macquarie Group will pitch more aggressively for data-hungry customers as it expands the Vocus Group’s national fibre network footprint.

  • Updated
  • Jenny Wiggins
Macquarie’s Ani Satchcroft and her team sold AirTrunk in August and signed a $5.25 billion deal to add TPG’s fibre into Vocus Group over the weekend.

Macquarie’s private equity job at Vocus hits $5.25b peak

Macquarie is again pushing the boundaries of what it means to be an infrastructure investor in Australia.

  • Anthony Macdonald
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Vocus’ $5b TPG fibre deal; New Lendlease boss; Star fundie goes solo

Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.

September

TPG chief executive Iñaki Berroeta is heading towards the climax of his two-year-long strategic review.

Vocus owners sign up co-investor in $6b-plus tilt for TPG’s fibre

TPG is within days of announcing the winner of the auction which stemmed out of a strategic review ordered nearly two years ago, the sources added.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Vocus Group CEO Ellie Sweeney will run the National Broadband Network from December.

NBN Co names Vocus’ Ellie Sweeney as next CEO

The Vocus Group boss will step into Stephen Rue’s shoes as he prepares to take the reins at Optus.

  • Jenny Wiggins

August

Telephone companies are gearing up for a battle over what kinds of technology can be used to replace traditional fixed phone lines

Telcos gear up for tech showdown

Australia’s biggest telcos are battling for taxpayer dollars in the debate over replacing ageing copper wires.

  • Jenny Wiggins
TPG Telecom boss Inaki Berroeta has dusted off talks with private capital backed rival Vocus Group.

Vocus revives $6.3b dream to buy TPG’s fibre network

But sources said discussions between the ASX-listed telecommunications group and its Macquarie and Aware Super-owned rival were at a very early stage.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

July

Phillip Britt is the chief executive of Aussie Broadband. He wants to capture more of the broadband market with cheaper products.

Aussie Broadband discount offshoot Buddy chases lost customers

Aussie Broadband is hoping to win back some of the customers lost to rival Superloop with a new, cheap internet brand, Buddy Telco.

  • Jenny Wiggins

March

There has been no shortage of turmoil at Optus over the past 20 years.

‘Floptus’, hacks and outages: Optus show eyes next chapter

There has rarely been a dull moment at Optus. Now, a buyout offers a chance to reset.

  • Updated
  • Paul Smith

November 2023

Artificial intelligence is expected to increase demand for fibre networks.

FibreconX teams up with Megaport in fibre network push

CEO Mark Rafferty says the optical fibre business hopes to snare 200 to 300 wholesale customers from the country’s biggest telecommunications groups as it pitches cut-price services.

  • Jenny Wiggins
TPG Telecom CEO Inaki Berroeta couldn’t reach agreement with the Vocus Group on a sale of fibre assets.

No quick deals for TPG Telecom after Vocus asset sale collapses

The collapse of the $6.3 billion deal shows the difficulty of spinning off telco infrastructure from retail businesses.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Macquarie’s Ani Satchcroft (right) told James Thomson (left) that the Vocus Group bid for TPG Telecom’s assets was “very complex.”

Investors ‘taking a breather’ from infrastructure dealmaking

But investments with a “higher level of complexity” were still happening, Macquarie Asset Management’s Ani Satchcroft said.

  • Jenny Wiggins
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TPG Telecom chief executive Inaki Berroeta.

TPG hangs up on $6.3b asset sale to Vocus

The telco says it will look at other deals after failing to reach an agreement with the Macquarie infrastructure-backed company on a $6.3 billion asset sale.

  • Updated
  • Brad Thompson
ASIC chair Joe Longo is increasingly alarmed at Australia’s lack of preparedness for cyber threats.

ASIC warns of ‘alarming’ holes in business’ cyber defences

ASIC is alarmed at corporate Australia’s lack of preparedness for digital threats, while experts say it will be costly for telcos to comply with new cyber laws.

  • Paul Smith

October 2023

Aussie Broadband boss Phillip Britt.

Aussie Broadband confirms $258m takeover bid for Symbio

The binding offer to buy the software group has been made as the telco overtakes Vocus to become Australia’s fourth-biggest internet provider.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Aussie Broadband has been signing up home and business customers faster than the market leaders, Telstra and TPG Telecom.

Aussie Broadband overtakes Vocus on internet connections

While Telstra and TPG still dominate the broadband market, they have been losing market share, while the third-biggest provider, Optus, has maintained share.

  • Jenny Wiggins
TPG Telecom boss Inaki Berroeta.

Vocus prepares $6 billion debt deal to bankroll TPG fibre tilt

Vocus, owned by Macquarie and Aware Super, has kicked off talks to put together a debt syndicate for its $6.3 billion bid to carve out TPG Telecom’s fibre assets.

  • Updated
  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/company/voc-1mv