Likewize has announced a A$200 million acquisition of an Optus subsidiary and a 15-year partnership with Optus.

One of the world's largest tech protection and support companies, Likewize, has announced it has entered into an agreement to buy 100% of Optus Insurance Services shares, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singtel Optus, and one of Australia's largest mobile phone operators.

The company also announced it has signed a 15-year agreement to provide Optus customers with device insurance services exclusively and device replacement and upgrade programs. The total consideration under these agreements is A$200 million.

"Likewize has transformed in recent years to be one of the world's leading tech protection and support companies," says Likewize CEO, Rod Millar.

"During this transformation, Likewize has made significant investments in technology platforms, made several strategic acquisitions to broaden its service portfolio and sold off operations in non-strategic markets."

He says today, Likewize has a comprehensive product portfolio to ensure it protects customers against every eventuality, whether a device is lost, stolen, damaged, malfunctioning or in need of an upgrade. He says if someone doesn't know how to do something, Likewize has the solution.

"This is a very significant acquisition for us," Millar continues. "It strengthens our device protection portfolio, creates a long-term partnership with one of Australia's leading mobile carriers, and increases our ability to scale and deliver unprecedented levels of service to all customers in that market.

"We believe that this acquisition, together with several recent large customer wins, positions Likewize to continue to deliver strong growth moving forward."

Matt Williams, Optus managing director of Products and Revenue, says, "The structure of the arrangement enables Optus to provide our customers with new, more flexible, and more complete products for device repairs, upgrades and replacements, delivered through our partnership with Likewize, the world's leading tech protection company."

He says this means Optus will go further in meeting customer needs, expanding its offering, and growing this part of its business accordingly.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of the 2022 calendar year, subject to regulatory approval.

Likewize was known as Brightstar before it rebranded and moved its headquarters from Miami to Southlake earlier this year. It announced the rebranding in August alongside plans to renovate a facility in Dallas-Fort Worth where it will process and repair 42 million smartphones and tablets annually over the next three years. It is currently based out of the Varispace Southlake campus.

Likewize has worked with retailers including Walmart and Amazon and manufacturers such as Samsung to distribute devices for years. It offers device insurance and repairs, as well as premium tech support.

Operating in 30 countries and generating $5 billion yearly in sales, Likewize employs 4,000 globally and plans to have 650 employees in North Texas by mid-2022.