Telstra and the Australian government secured the required approvals to acquire Digicel Pacific nearly nine months after announcing a move to take over the company, which has operations in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.

In a statement, Telstra CEO Andrew Penn noted it worked closely with governments in the region on the acquisition. Alongside their approvals, the operator also secured necessary regulatory clearances.

Telstra International will manage the company as a stand-alone business, which will be overseen by a Telstra-controlled board chaired by enterprise unit executive David Burns.

The operator paid $270 million in equity towards the $1.6 billion purchase, while the Australian government, through Export Finance Australia, contributed the remaining $1.3 billion. Telstra owns 100 per cent of the ordinary equity.

Digicel Pacific’s service revenue reached $466 million in fiscal 2022 (ending 31 March), with 2.8 million subscribers and 1,700 employees.

Telstra stated it expects depreciation and amortisation of around $160 million per year, which includes provision for the purchase price.

Meanwhile, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced today (14 July) it will not oppose a planned acquisition of Media Innovations Holding (Fetch TV) by Telstra, after determining the deal is unlikely to result in “a substantial lessening of competition”.

Both companies deliver content aggregation services via set-top-boxes.

The regulator stated there would be sufficient competition from other technologies including smart TVs, along with Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast, Apple TV and gaming consoles.