Symbio agrees to $262m takeover by Aussie Broadband
Aussie Broadband’s wholesale telecommunications business, which provides services to third parties to resell, will account for almost a third of its operations after it sealed a deal to buy software group Symbio for $262 million.
Phillip Britt, Aussie Broadband managing director and co-founder, toldThe Australian Financial Review that while providing residential services, such as internet broadband connections, would still be about half of Aussie Broadband’s revenue, the acquisition boosted the company’s white-label and wholesale capabilities.
Aussie Broadband managing director Phillip Britt.
The wholesale division currently generates about 13 per cent of the company’s $787,952 annual group revenue.
Aussie Broadband’s white-label services are designed for big companies like Origin Energy, which sell telecommunications services under their own brands.
But Symbio provides a broader range of white-label services that can be marketed to smaller companies, Mr Britt said.
Symbio also specialises in hosting phone services for big businesses. “That will allow us to compete more in the enterprise and government segments,” he said.
Symbio’s technology services enable people to make voice calls over the internet, and it provides millions of phone numbers that can be used by people dialling into a Zoom or Microsoft Teams meeting as an alternative to clicking on a web link.
Aussie Broadband last year acquired a voice business called Over the Wire, which competes with Symbio but is much smaller.
The acquisition comes as Aussie Broadband, which floated three years ago, overtakes the Vocus Group to become Australia’s fourth-biggest internet provider.
Aussie Broadband will review Symbio’s Asian strategy – it has set up businesses in
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