Digicel Group Holdings Ltd. says it has completed the previously announced sale of subsidiary Digicel Pacific Ltd. (DPL) to a subsidiary of Telstra Corp. (see “Telstra to buy Digicel Pacific with government backing”). The deal values DPL at up to $1.85 billion, inclusive of a three-year, $250 million earn-out; the total equates to approximately 8.3 times DPL's adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization of approximately $222 million in the year ended March 31, 2021. Telstra partially funded the acquisition via the Australian Government, through Export Finance Australia.
DPL operates in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, Tonga, and Nauru. The group will continue to deliver services under the Digicel brand in the six markets and the current management team will remain in place.
Meanwhile, Digicel says it has entered a binding international arbitration process agreement with the Independent State of Papua New Guinea to resolve a disputed one-time PGK 350 million ($99.4 million) exit tax and to waive a further PGK 50 million ($14.2 million) sought in respect of non-payment of the tax to date. Digicel has placed $99.4 million in escrow pending the outcome of the arbitration, which will take place in Singapore.
"Having established our Pacific operations as a business start-up in 2005, we depart with enormous pride in a team that has made affordable best-in-class communications available to more than 10 million people across six of the most exciting economies in the region,” commented Denis O'Brien, Digicel’s founder and chairman. “I am deeply grateful to all our colleagues who contributed to this success and, in particular, to our 1,700 staff in the Pacific who I know will continue to represent the Digicel brand with pride under new owners Telstra. We wish them every continued success for the future."
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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