Teoh needs to lift game if he is to pass sternest test

TPG Telecom founder David Teoh was clearly out of his comfort zone in a rare public appearance before the Federal Court.

TPG executive chairman David Teoh leaves Federal Court in Melbourne. Picture: David Geraghty.

TPG Telecom founder David Teoh was clearly out of his comfort zone in his rare public appearance before the Federal Court on Wednesday, and things look likely to get even tougher as the competition regulator’s legal team prepares to turn the screws.

A soft-spoken Teoh was palpably nervous as the competition regulator’s legal counsel, Michael Hodge QC, of banking royal commission fame, looked to pin him down from the get-go.

Given Teoh’s long aversion to being in the spotlight, a grilling in full sight of the public was never going to be pleasant.

The fact he was willing to subject himself to a media pack hungry for pictures highlights the gravity of the situation TPG finds itself in.

For all of his business acumen and remarkable track record, Teoh isn’t exactly a polished corporate executive at ease with the cut and thrust of a courtroom.

Instead of a multibillion-dollar rich-lister, the court on Wednesday saw a congenial business owner wary of making a misstep and potentially overawed by the occasion.

But you don’t build a business such as TPG by simply being congenial, and given what’s at stake, it’s likely we will see a more feisty Teoh take the stand on Thursday.

He clearly will need to lift his game if he is to withstand the forensic scrutiny of Hodge.

The opening round on Wednesday, while largely exploratory in nature, presented a few clues as to why the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has been so adamant in blocking a TPG-­Vodafone Hutchison Australia merger.

As far as the ACCC is concerned, TPG had always wanted to build a 4G network and there’s no reason why it can’t go back to doing exactly that.

The regulator’s legal team has done its homework and Hodge is likely to kick things off on Thursday with an attempt to further unpack TPG’s original mobile plans. Having made the lack of 5G ­options the main reason for shutting down TPG’s mobile rollout, Teoh’s statements have failed to press the point home.

Hodge has already managed to lay the groundwork that TPG’s 5G claims were aspirational at best and cemented the regulator’s ­argument that Teoh and his telco are still the best hope for a fourth mobile operator to emerge in Australia.

Teoh will have to somehow flip that script on Thursday but for a deal-maker that seldom puts a foot wrong, this might just be the sternest test of his career.