Vodafone Group has agreed to sell its Vodafone New Zealand unit to a consortium of investors, which includes New Zealand-based Infratil and Canada-based Brookfield Asset Management. The consortium has agreed to acquire Vodafone New Zealand for NZD 3.4 billion cash (approximately EUR 2.1 billion).
The deal follows Vodafone's failure to merge the subsidiary with Sky New Zealand in 2017, due to competition concerns. Following the completion of the transaction, Vodafone Group and Vodafone New Zealand will enter into a multi-year partner market agreement, which includes preferential roaming arrangements, access to Vodafone’s global IoT platform and central procurement functions, and a range of services for business users and residential customers.
According to Vodafone New Zealand CEO Jason Paris, the operator’s strategy, employees and management team, as well as the brand will be unchanged upon completion of the transaction. "What changes is our owners," Paris said. Vodafone New Zealand also plans to introduce some local ownership, to support the company’s business growth over the coming years.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is scheduled for completion during Vodafone's 2020 financial year.
Vodafone New Zealand contributed around EUR 1.2 billion in revenue and EUR 281 million in adjusted EBITDA in the past fiscal year to March. The operator had 2.55 million mobile customers and 424,000 fixed broadband customers at the end of the period, little changed over the past year.
