Commoditel acquires AAPT pre-paid customer base

SYDNEY - Low cost telco Commoditel has acquired the pre-paid customer base of Telecom's subsidiary AAPT.

The acquisition, which will be funded through debt and vendor finance, will bring a customer base of about 22,000 which will boost Commoditel's customer's to over 45,000.

The firm expects the combined revenues for Commoditel to be above A$1 million ($1.087 million) per quarter once the integration is completed in the first quarter of 2006.

AAPT GM consumer Paul McFadden said the sale of its pre-paid mobile customer base was in line with its focus on providing bundled services to customers.

"AAPT's strategy to transition our consumer customers to bundled services means we have been looking for a good home for our loyal pre-paid mobile base," he said.

AAPT is a subsidiary of New Zealand's Telecom. Telecom is set to start a review of AAPT's future next month, with a view to possibly selling the business or entering some kind of partnership or joint venture.

Optus has been rumoured to be interested in purchasing AAPT, while Virgin Mobile has also been said to have been in talks with Telecom.

- AAP