Vocus, which is backed by Macquarie Asset Management and Aware Super, has agreed to acquire TPG Telecom’s enterprise, government and wholesale fixed and fibre network assets – including Vision Network – for A$5.25 billion.

Vocus will by way of this deal operate a network of more than 50,000km of owned or leased fiber and almost 15,000km of international submarine cables.

It will acquire TPG’s PPC-1 submarine cable which runs from Sydney to Guam, accompanying its existing Australia Singapore Cable, North-West Cable system, Darwin-Jakarta-Singapore Cable system, and the in-progress Pacific Connect cable system.

Vocus will be the owner and operator of international cable landings in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Darwin, and Port Hedland, along with capacity on numerous third-party cable systems.

As part of the agreement, Vocus will provide fixed network services back to TPG for a fee of A$130 million per annum.

That agreement of Vocus to provide services to TPG – Australia’s third largest telco – has an initial 15-year term with two 10-year extensions at TPG’s election and is designed to ensure TPG maintains “owner economics” of the fibre network.

The overall deal is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025, and marks the end of TPG’s strategic review of its fibre network infrastructure.

 

The company expects the sale to deliver net cash proceeds of between A$4.65 billion and A$4.75 billion.

The deal also includes TPG’s Vision Network wholesale residential broadband assets – with assets in major cities including Ballarat, Mildura, and Geelong – supporting Vocus’ consumer and NBN wholesale business.

TPG will retain its mobile radio network infrastructure, consumer and EG&W mobile business, and its Consumer and small office/home office commercial fixed business.

The agreement “creates a more focused and streamlined business with significant optionality for the optimisation of our capital structure,” said TPG Chief Executive Officer Iñaki Berroeta. It now has to pass through regulatory clearances including the FIRB and ACCC.

The latest deal comes weeks after the country’s competition regulator cleared a mega Optus-TPG network sharing deal.

Under that agreement which ChannelNews reported on previously, the $1.6 billion regional mobile network and spectrum sharing deal will see TPG more than double its 4G coverage to 1,000,000 sq km, allowing it to reach 98.4 per cent of Australia’s population.