Aussie Broadband, the fifth largest provider of broadband services in Australia, has taken take the fight to Superloop weeks after an acquisition deal worth several hundred million dollars collapsed.
In February, Superloop’s board rejected a A$466 million bid for it to be acquired by Aussie Broadband.
Superloop subsequently instructed Aussie Broadband to reduce its stake to below the 12 per cent mark. Superloop’s constitution prohibits acquisitions of 12 per cent or more without statutory approval from the Info-communications Media Development Authority Act (IMDA) in Singapore.
However, in a filing made to the ASX on Thursday, Aussie Broadband confirmed that it received clearance from the IMDA to hold a 19.9 per cent stake in Superloop.
That statement does add that Aussie Broadband “is under no obligation to acquire any further shares” in Superloop and that it “continues to review its existing shareholding” in Superloop.
The move by Aussie Broadband comes just months after it outbid Superloop to acquire Symbio for A$262 million.
In a bid to defend itself against Aussie Broadband, Superloop moved to bring Origin Energy in as a 14 per cent shareholder in the company as part of a six-year contract with Origin providing wholesale internet to its nearly 133,000 customers. Origin was previously with Aussie Broadband.
After losing Origin, Aussie Broadband’s co-founder Phil Britt has said that his company is now in discussions with three smaller energy retailers, reported The Australian.
Aussie Broadband has posted a revenue growth of 17.7 per cent to A$445.9 million in the first half of the 2024 financial year ending December 31, 2023. Its EBITDA also grew 12.7 per cent to A$46.3 million, while operating cashflow increased 57.8 per cent to A$40.7 million.
