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Optus to
seek new markets for satellite business
SingTel has ruled out a sell-off of the
Optus satellite business for the time
being, with the company instead looking
for new growth markets for the division.
However, Singtel group consumer CEO Paul
O’Sullivan said that a future initial
public offering was still possible.
“Clearly there will always be options
open to us in the future to consider
things like an IPO but at this stage we
haven't reached any conclusion on that
and that's just something we'll keep in
mind,” he said.
O’Sullivan said that the strategic
review of the satellite business was now
complete.
Parent company SingTel announced in
March this year that it had hired
Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley to
review the operations of the Optus
satellite
division.
Reports had suggested that the
business had been valued at more than
A$2 billion and that a sale process had
been looked at, with Intelsat and a
number of private equity firms rumoured
to be circling the assets.
Yesterday, however, O’Sullivan said
that the plan was to grow and invest in
the business, building its customer base
and expertise. “It's a terrific
business, it dominates the Australian
and New Zealand footprint,” he said,
claiming it was “one of the most
profitable satellite businesses
globally”.
“The strategic review was all about
asking what's the best way for us to
create value in this business for
shareholders and for customers. And it
wasn't necessarily about looking to sell
it or IPO it or anything else,”
O’Sullivan said at the company's results
presentation yesterday.
“Based on the review and based on
what we've seen from the review, our
conclusion is that right now we're
better off keeping that business and
investing in it and growing it
ourselves. Obviously we'll keep our
options open for the future and we'll
keep on reviewing the landscape but
right now our decision is to keep the
business and to invest in it and to grow
it under our own flag.”
He said that one of the areas of
growth the company is looking at was
across the VSAT industry, while
high-definition video and international
opportunities were also cited.
Geoff Long, COMMUNICATIONS DAY
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