PowerTel shareholders approve acquisition by Telecom NZ

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 24 April 2007 03:19

IT Industry - Deals

PowerTel shareholders have give the go ahead for Telecom NZ to acquire 100 percent of the company under a scheme of arrangement.

PowerTel managing director, Paul Broad, said the company would now move to secure the final approval of the Federal Court for the scheme and he expected the deal to be completed by early May, after which the PowerTel business will be combined with that of Telecom NZ's Australian subsidiary, AAPT.

"PowerTel's recent performance has confirmed we are building on the momentum established in 2006 and our preliminary figures for the first calendar quarter show strong revenue growth with an increase in EBITDA of 24 percent over last year," Broad said.

The PowerTel shares will be acquired by Telecom Enterprises Australia Pty Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Telecom NZ.

If the scheme is approved by the court at a hearing, scheduled for Monday, 30 April. PowerTel intends to lodge the court order with ASIC on 1 May 2007 and PowerTel shares will cease trading on the ASX at close of trading on that date.