Australia: Vocus considers US$2.3B offer from EQT

Australian telecoms junior Vocus Group on Monday said it received a A$3.3 billion ($2.3 billion) buyout offer from Swedish private-equity firm EQT Infrastructure, reported Reuters.

The non-binding offer sent Vocus shares soaring by a quarter and vaulting over where they traded in 2017 when US buyout firm KKR  and Affinity Equity Partners made, then abandoned, their own plays for the struggling telco.

EQT made a cash offer of A$5.25, Vocus said. That was a 35% premium to Friday’s closing price and A$1.1 billion bigger than KKR and Affinity’s separate but matching bids, underscoring confidence in the telco’s path away from discount retailing into network building.

“It’s a great price,” said independent telecoms analyst Paul Budde. “Vocus has been struggling a bit for the last couple of years (but) the assets that they have are definitely worthwhile.”