Vocus acquires NextGen Group assets in $861m deal

Vocus Communications has continued its aggressive acquisition path, snapping up Nextgen Group's assets in a $861 million deal.

The acquisition includes Nextgen Networks 17,000km national fibre network, the almost completed subsea Port Hedland to Darwin cable and the proposed Perth to Singapore subsea cable.

The deal values Nextgen Networks at an enterprise value of $700 million, with the North West Cable System valued at $134 million and the Australia Singapore Cable Project valued at $27 million, payable on commencement of the construction of the cable.

The acquisition provides Vocus with fibre access to 70 data centers and more than 1100 buildings, says James Spenceley, Vocus executive director, with only $11.5 million of additional capital expenditure to bring the combined points of interconnect to 112 of 121.

Geoff Horth, Vocus chief executive, says the acquisition of Nextgen Networks, which is one of Australia's largest national fibre backhaul networks, 'greatly enhances' Vocus' existing infrastructure network.

"Owning this critical infrastructure will allow Vocus to connect its metropolitan infrastructure to Nextgen Networks' inter-capital fibre optic network, thereby connecting mainland capital cities to each other and to regional and remote areas on one owned network," Horth says.

Meanwhile the acquisition of the North West Cable System, a development stage project to build a 2000km submarine cable from Darwin to Port Hedland to service the mining and offshore oil and gas sectors in Western Australia, provides significant near-term upside to expand Vocus' owned network offering, Horth says.

The acquisition will be funded via a fully underwritten equity capital raising.