Cashed up International communication Company Vodafone is currently exploring the possibility of acquiring local communication Company’s with both iiNet and TPG Telecom in their sights.
According to the Australian newspaper the
UK based Company who recently sold part of their business empire for $US130
billion ($144bn) to Verizon Communications in the US has already had talks with
iiNet and TPG Telecom after its chief Vittorio Colao revealed he was exploring
possibilities for buyouts.
While it is understood that Vodafone Group
is in no rush to complete a deal, sources have indicated that the company wants
to make a serious play in the fixed-line broadband market in the next 12 to 18
months with the real possibility emerging that the UK Company could acquire
both organisations in a move that could put pressure on both Telstra and Optus.
The Australian said that the company’s
ambitions to crack the fixed-line business were put on the back burner during
the past two years as it focused on repairing its brand and mobile networks
under the guidance of Bill Morrow, who will soon leave the company to head NBN
Co.
But with Vodafone on the mend and its
parent soon to be flush with cash from the sale of its 45 per cent stake in
Verizon, the company could pursue plans to look at acquisitions here instead of
starting its own broadband arm in what is already a highly saturated and
contested market.
Sources close to Vodafone and iiNet said
the boards of both companies had “serious” discussions about merging
as far back as 2011.
