Quick View: Vocus To Make Macquarie A Stronger Passive Infrastructure Player, NBN Suitor

摘要

In March 2021, a consortium consisting of alternative asset manager Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) and industry superannuation fund Aware Super made a formal offer to acquire wholesale telecoms provider Vocus Group for AUD3.5bn (USD2.7bn). MIRA and Aware will each own 50% of Vocus upon completion of the acquisition. Vocus’ extensive fibre network and data centres will complement MIRA’s already robust portfolio of passive communications infrastructure, which include data centre and mobile towers assets owned through its stakes in towerco Axicom and data centre firm AirTrunk. We believe that MIRA could potentially explore the augmentation of Vocus’ nationwide fibre network with Axicom’s tower assets, providing the companies the scale and capabilities to offer even higher quality wholesale services to operators. A robust portfolio of connectivity assets could also pave the way for the companies to explore the provision of higher-value ‘Internet of Everything’ services in the future, with Australia’s advanced and technologically-receptive businesses being fertile ground for the uptake of these new applications.