Gold Coast telco Pivotel calls in TMT Partners; raise on the way
Queensland-headquartered telco Pivotel, which specialises in servicing customers outside the catchment of regular mobile phone coverage, has drafted boutique corporate advisor TMT Partners to oversee a capital partner search.
Pivotel’s clients include DDH1, Komatsu and NSW Fire & Rescue.
It’s early days, but TMT Partners is expected to start knocking on potential backers’ doors in the coming weeks. It would be seeking a cashed-up investor who could support Pivotel’s growth trajectory, sources said.
Pivotel, which makes $120 million-plus in annual revenue, was set up in 2003 by former Vodafone executives Peter Bolger and Rob Sakker to acquire the telco giant’s mobile satellite business. Both founders are still involved, Bolger as the chief executive officer and Sakker as president of Pivotel’s US business.
In the two decades since, the business has grown to service more than 100,000 users in Australia and New Zealand with secure satellite and cellular communications. It runs a satellite ground network and pitches itself as the only licensed mobile carrier in the country to be focused on critical communication services.
Japanese giant Komatsu, ASX-listed driller DDH1, NSW Fire & Rescue, St Johns Ambulance and Queensland Health have used Pivotel’s solutions for remote communication. Typical clients include remote farming operations, rural broadcast news services, mining businesses, and oil and gas sites – basically any work site cut off from traditional mobile coverage.
The company claims to have spent more than $75 million on its telecommunications infrastructure.
Its satellite network supports voice, high-speed data services and value-add features around call management, messaging and alerts. Secure interconnects are
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