Telecom Corporation of New Zealand confirmed it had reached an agreement to sell its wholly-owned Yellow Pages Group unit to a Canadian-led private equity consortium consisting of CCMP Capital and Teachers Private Capital.
The total value of the deal represents NZ$2.16 billion in cash plus about NZ$75 million of Yellow Pages Group debtors retained by Telecom.
The deal has now been referred to the government Overseas Investment Office and Telecom NZ hopes to have been given approval and have the transaction completed by the end of April.
Telecom NZ announced late last year that it planned to offload the YPG group, saying it was in the best long term interests of shareholders.
The sale is starkly different from Telstra’s approach to its directory businesses. Telstra has consistently maintained its Sensis unit – which operates its YellowPages and WhitePages businesses, among other directory-style operations – is central to its long term business plans.
Telecom NZ chairman Wayne Boyd said the company hoped to maintain a close relationship with the YPG business.
“This transaction represents a significant outcome for Telecom shareholders,” Mr Boyd said.
“The Board is satisfied that the transaction fairly reflects the underlying value of the YPG business.”
For more Web Application and Telecom news, click below.
