Article has being pulled already. Regards, Peter Tiggerdine
GPG Fingerprint: 2A3F EA19 F6C2 93C1 411D 5AB2 D5A8 E8A8 0E74 6127 On Thu, Jun 8, 2017 at 9:12 AM, Sam McLeod <aus...@smcleod.net> wrote: > This makes me a little worried, > I hope it doesn't mean that Vocus will go the way of several (most) other > ISPs... > > "A private equity firm is looking to take over Vocus while the share price > is low. _Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co want to buy out Australia's 4th > largest telco at $3.50 a share > http://www.zdnet.com/article/vocus-receives-au3-50-per-share-takeover-proposal > which was a decent premium over the $2.86 they were trading at yesterday > (they've shot up to $3.45 now). The Vocus board have said they're looking > into it. A huge number of NBN RSPs are basically Vocus resellers, so it'll > have a decent impact on the industry if a private equity firm takes over and > makes radical changes." > > The article reads: > > --- > > Vocus Communications has announced receiving a takeover proposal from > Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) to acquire 100 percent of its shares at a > price of AU$3.50 per share via a scheme of arrangement. > > The preliminary, indicative, and non-binding proposal by KKR is subject to > whether Vocus' net debt does not exceed AU$1.1 billion as of June 30; > earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) is > between AU$365 million to AU$375 million for the current financial year, and > was not driven by any abnormal or one-off items; and Vocus' existing asset > base is maintained. > > To look into the proposal, Vocus has formed an independent board committee > (IBC), chaired by Vocus chair David Spence and comprised of Vocus' > non-executive board directors Rhoda Phillippo, Craig Farrow, Robert > Mansfield, and Jon Brett. > > Should the board approve, the indicative proposal would also need > shareholder, court, and regulatory approval. > > "The Vocus board notes that there is no certainty the indicative proposal > will result in an offer for Vocus, what the terms of any offer would be, or > whether there will be a recommendation by the Vocus board," Vocus said in a > statement on Wednesday morning to the Australian Securities Exchange. > > "The Vocus board will update shareholders when the IBC has completed its > assessment." > > The proposal follows Vocus revising its guidance for the 2017 financial year > last month, with revenue down by AU$100 million, underlying EBITDA down by > between AU$65 million and AU$75 million, and net profit down by AU$45 > million to AU$50 million. Vocus' net debt is expected to be between AU$1 > billion and AU$1.1 billion. > > Underlying EBITDA is now expected to be between AU$365 million and AU$375 > million, net profit between AU$160 million and AU$165 million, and revenue > at AU$1.8 billion, Vocus CEO Geoff Horth said. > > > The company attributed AU$10 million of the EBITDA reduction to the impact > of lower than expected billings and an increased headcount across its > Enterprise and Wholesale division; AU$5 million to low earnings in its mass > market energy business due to "volatility created by extreme weather events > in 3QFY17"; AU$12 million to higher expenses than expected, particularly on > technology; AU$33 million to an accounting review of "the negotiated > contract terms on a number of large projects"; and AU$10 million to other > trading variances. > > The drop in expected net profit is due to pre-tax expenses of AU$113 > million, including AU$61 million from the non-cash amortisation of acquired > customer intangibles; AU$26.4 million from the amortisation of acquired > software; AU$21.4 million from acquisition and integration costs; and AU$5.6 > million from the non-cash book loss on the divestment of the Connect 8 joint > venture and the Cisco HCS voice platform. > > Revenue will be lower than previously forecast thanks to a AU$12 million > take-back from lower billings across its Enterprise and Wholesale division; > AU$40 million as a result of the accounting review, as it was found that > revenue from the projects involved would be earned in future periods; and > AU$20 million from the divestment of the Aggregato Australia business and > the Cisco HCS voice platform. > > Vocus had in February announced a net profit of AU$47.2 million, up by > almost 100 percent, due to its acquisitions of M2 and Nextgen. This mirrored > Vocus' FY16 results showing a 223 percent rise in net profit, up to AU$64.1 > million, attributed to its AU$1.2 billion acquisition of Amcom. > > Statutory EBITDA for the first half of FY17 was AU$168.3 million, up from > AU$60.7 million a year previous, while underlying EBITDA -- excluding > acquisition, integration, and other costs -- was AU$187.2 million, up from > AU$62.3 million. Vocus' underlying net profit was AU$91.85 million, up from > AU$27.37 million. > > Revenue for the first half of the financial year rose significantly, from > AU$176.3 million up to AU$888.2 million. > > Vocus merged with M2 last February to form the third-largest > telecommunications provider in New Zealand and the fourth-largest in > Australia worth more than AU$3 billion. It raised AU$652 million last July > to acquire Nextgen Networks for AU$700 million, along with the North West > Cable System for AU$134 million and the Australia Singapore Cable project > for AU$27 million. > > --- > > -- > Sam McLeod > @s_mcleod | smcleod.net > > Words are my own opinions and do not necessarily represent those of my > employer or partners. > > > > _______________________________________________ > AusNOG mailing list > AusNOG@lists.ausnog.net > http://lists.ausnog.net/mailman/listinfo/ausnog > _______________________________________________ AusNOG mailing list AusNOG@lists.ausnog.net http://lists.ausnog.net/mailman/listinfo/ausnog