Bigblu Broadband PLC Non-core Australian fibre disposal (8697Q)
11 June 2018 - 4:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMBBB
RNS Number : 8697Q
Bigblu Broadband PLC
11 June 2018
Bigblu Broadband plc
("BBB" or the "Company" or the "Group")
Non-core Australian fibre disposal
Bigblu Broadband plc (AIM: BBB), a leading provider of
alternative fast broadband services, announces that it has sold the
fibre broadband customer base, along with relevant infrastructure,
of its Australian subsidiary SkyMesh Pty Ltd to Australian provider
of connectivity services Superloop Ltd (ASX: SLC) ("Superloop") for
AUD $1.5m in cash.
The disposal relates to around 11,000 fibre customers serviced
under the NBNCo broadband access network. Customers on SkyMesh's
satellite and fixed wireless broadband services will be unaffected
by the transaction.
BBB inherited the fibre customer base when it acquired SkyMesh's
satellite and fixed wireless operations in 2016. As expected, due
to the competitive nature of this sector, these fibre customers
contributed minimal EBITDA to the Group with a profit margin
contribution significantly below BBB's average. Given the lack of
synergies with the rest of its products, the Company does not view
these fibre customers as core to its growth strategy and, as such,
believes they will be better served by Superloop.
The proceeds from the disposal will be used to fund exceptional
and reorganisation costs within Australia as the business is
optimised to generate higher returns. In addition, the proceeds
will be used to reduce the Company's senior debt with HSBC or fund
future accretive bolt-on acquisitions with customer bases focused
on core satellite or fixed wireless.
Andrew Walwyn, CEO of Bigblu commented:
"Bigblu's focus is on serving customers outside the fibre
footprint via a variety of alternative broadband offerings
including satellite, fixed wireless, 4G and 5G and we feel that
that the structure of the fibre broadband market under the NBNCo
scheme does not suit our focused alternative broadband business
model.
"Bigblu is clearly focused on its core markets of delivering a
high quality alternative broadband service to the last 5% to 10% of
customers in each territory that aren't serviced by fibre.
"We're very grateful to these fibre customers for their support
whilst they've been part of the Bigblu family and we're confident
they will be very well looked after in the future by Superloop who
are real specialists in delivering fibre services."
Bevan Slattery CEO of Superloop commented:
"We are excited with this transaction and looking forward to
migrating these clients onto the Superloop network later this year
to deliver an exceptional user experience. Importantly we also look
forward to continuing our long working relationship with Bigblu
Broadband and Skymesh."
Contacts:
Bigblu Broadband Plc www.bbb-plc.com
Andrew Walwyn, Chief Executive Via Walbrook PR
Officer
Numis Securities (Nomad and Tel: +44 (0)20 7260 1000
broker)
Oliver Hardy (Corporate Advisory)
James Black / Jonathan Abbott
(Corporate Broking)
Walbrook PR (PR advisers) Tel: +44 (0)20 7933 8780
Paul Cornelius / Nick Rome or bigblubroadband@walbrookpr.com
About BBB
BigBlu Broadband plc (AIM: BBB), formerly Satellite Solutions
Worldwide Group PLC (AIM: SAT), is a leading provider of
alternative broadband solutions throughout Europe and Australia.
BBB delivers a portfolio of super-fast wireless broadband products
for consumers and businesses unserved or underserved by fibre.
The Company has a significant target market with 27m customers
in Europe with speeds of under 4 Mb, and a further 1m in Australia
who have been identified as only suitable for either satellite or
fixed wireless broadband.
Acquisitive and organic growth have enabled BBB to grow rapidly
since inception in 2008 during which time the Company has completed
20 acquisitions across nine different countries. It is extremely
well positioned to continue growing as it targets customers that
are trapped in the 'digital divide' with limited fibre broadband
options.
BBB's range of solutions includes satellite, next generation
fixed wireless and 4G/5G delivering between 30 Mbps and 150 Mbps
for consumers, and up to 1 Gbps for businesses. It provides
customers ongoing services including hardware, pre and post-sale
support, installation, billing and warranties whilst offering
various tariffs depending on end user requirements.
Importantly, as its core technologies evolve, and cheaper
capacity is made available, BBB continues to offer ever-increasing
speeds and higher data throughputs to satisfy market demands for
'video-on- demand'. Its alternative broadband offerings present a
customer experience that is similar to that offered by wired
broadband and the connection can be shared in the normal way with
PCs, tablets and smart-phones via a normal wired or wireless
router.
High levels of recurring revenue, increasing economies of scale
and Government stimulation of the alternative broadband market in
many countries provide a solid foundation for the Company as it
targets further organic growth to 150,000 customers by 2020 as
demand for alternative super-fast broadband services increases
around the world.
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END
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