Telcos battle for internet calling provider
For some time, small internet providers such as Aussie Broadband and Superloop have been nipping at the heels of Australia’s biggest telecommunications groups, stealing away some of the customers who stream Netflix and log onto Zoom calls from home.
Now, they are going after more of the communication services dominated by Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom, with both companies making acquisitions as they expand and chase corporate and government customers.
Symbio, a software group that helps people make telephone calls over the internet, is the latest entity to be caught up in the acquisition spree.
Founded in Sydney in 2002 and listed in 2006 under the name MyNetFone at 20¢ a share before rebranding in 2020, Symbio has received takeover offers from both Superloop and Aussie Broadband in the past three months.
Superloop, which was founded by technology entrepreneur Bevan Slattery in 2014 and listed in 2015, was first to make an approach, lobbying an initial cash and stock offer in early August, when Symbio’s shares were trading at around $2.38.
It returned with a higher bid in September that valued Symbio at $2.91 per share, including $1.42 in cash.
But it was trumped in late September by Aussie Broadband, which offered a cash and stock deal worth $3.15 per share at the time, including $2.36 in cash, giving Symbio a valuation of $217 million.
Aussie Broadband is still doing due diligence on Symbio’s financial books, but if it makes a firm offer, Symbio has said it will recommend it to shareholders.
Symbio claims to be disrupting the traditional telecommunications industry. It is considered to be a pioneer of voice over internet protocol (VOIP) in Australia, which is technology that enables people to make voice calls over the
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