Telco sale delayed as buyers continue due diligence - report

Australian media reports say Telecom has delayed the sale of its AAPT business by a week as potential purchasers continue due diligence.

Final bids were expected yesterday but the Australian Financial Review reported that main contender TPG Telecom would take until the end of next week to complete due diligence.

Southern Cross media and telecommunications analyst Daniel Blair told the newspaper that TPG Telecom was the natural buyer for Telecom's Australian business.

He said the cost-focused TPG owner could extract A$60 million ($74 million) to A$65 million of savings from the merger.

According to the report, smaller rival Amcom is still in the running to buy AAPT but Asian-based Pacnet's bid has fallen short.

Telecom has denied a formal sale process is taking place but chief executive Paul Reynolds said in April that AAPT was not seen as core to its mainstream business in New Zealand and any offers that were in the interest of shareholders would be considered .

Analysts estimate Telecom has invested $3 billion in AAPT since it first took a stake in the company at the height of the tech boom in 1999.

A sale price of A$400 million would be in line with book value but represent a loss to investors of $2.5 billion.

Telecom shares closed up 5c at $1.92 yesterday.