RUMOUR: 2degrees plan to sell back to the duopoly when they hit 5%

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › RUMOUR: 2degrees plan to sell back to the duopoly when they hit 5%

1 | 2 | 3

1042 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#269632 3-Nov-2009 14:42

Paulthagerous:

This could make it more attractive for Tesltra etc, if all the 'grunt work' has been done. However, I guess we will have to see. I wonder if 2degrees are gonna come on here and say anything? Their absence may lead people to conclusions...

2deg won't make any announcements here. They'll just let us hypothesise ourselves into oblivion.

DrCheese

382 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#269652 3-Nov-2009 15:19

Interesting. Always love a good rumour. This might explain the abrupt departure of the previous CEO, Mike Reynolds. The low pricing would certainly be a strategy for boosting short-term market share, however, which mobile phone company would want to buy a company that is pricing their product at such a razor-thin margin? Prices would need to rise. Also note that 2degrees customers are pre-pay and would switch to another company in the blink of an eye if prices went up too much. This could have a rapid and dramatic effect on the mooted 5% market share.

MikeyPI

450 posts

Ultimate Geek

#269677 3-Nov-2009 16:45

DrCheese: Interesting. Always love a good rumour. This might explain the abrupt departure of the previous CEO, Mike Reynolds. The low pricing would certainly be a strategy for boosting short-term market share, however, which mobile phone company would want to buy a company that is pricing their product at such a razor-thin margin? Prices would need to rise. Also note that 2degrees customers are pre-pay and would switch to another company in the blink of an eye if prices went up too much. This could have a rapid and dramatic effect on the mooted 5% market share.

Exactly. Which IMHO I think it makes the most sense for a company looking to compete with VF & TNZ. They already would have a cash flow customer base, semi built network, and brand recognition. If they had capital for finishing the network and implementing 3/4G, 2D's has already done a lot of the work, and all that would be left is introducing proper calling plans and mobile data, and bingo, you have yourself a company ready to compete.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#269690 3-Nov-2009 17:25

The most obvious fault with your logic is that you have given absolutely no reason why VF or Telecom would want to buy a network that exists across in a handful of cities.

There is only one reason Vodafone would be interested and that would be the access to 900 spectrum they were forced to sell to NZ Comms - the catch 22 is that there is NO way the MED would allow them access to that spectrum again to reuse it for their own network.

Every new business has an exit plan - and one such exit plan would be to sell. There are players out there who would be interested but any suggestions that VF or Telecom would be interested when they already have their own networks is just completely laughable.

antbs

370 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#269704 3-Nov-2009 17:54

langi27: I wonder if Kordia along with Orcon could front up with the dosh, like Telecom and Vodafone you have a strong business if you can combine Voice, Data and Mobile services.

You think so?

With Orcon and their image as a fast broadband provider they may not be so interested in buying an EDGE based network.

You never know though..

Paulthagerous

698 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#269705 3-Nov-2009 17:57

antbs:
langi27: I wonder if Kordia along with Orcon could front up with the dosh, like Telecom and Vodafone you have a strong business if you can combine Voice, Data and Mobile services.

You think so?

With Orcon and their image as a fast broadband provider they may not be so interested in buying an EDGE based network.

You never know though..

Much stranger things have happened.

manhinli

2483 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#269706 3-Nov-2009 18:00

antbs:
langi27: I wonder if Kordia along with Orcon could front up with the dosh, like Telecom and Vodafone you have a strong business if you can combine Voice, Data and Mobile services.

You think so?

With Orcon and their image as a fast broadband provider they may not be so interested in buying an EDGE based network.

You never know though..

2degrees are rolling out 3G next year - don't think they'll reach 5% that fast :)

Find me on Twitter!

I posted 1, 2 x 10^3 times!

AliExpress

Shop now on AliExpress (affiliate link).

cws82us

788 posts

Ultimate Geek

#269728 3-Nov-2009 19:31

hope Optus get it. so that we can have cell phones and landline and pay tv with Optus. other pay tv provader will be good

join Quic and get free sign up when you click my link https://account.quic.nz/refer/250676

MikeyPI

450 posts

Ultimate Geek

#269754 3-Nov-2009 20:36

antbs:
langi27: I wonder if Kordia along with Orcon could front up with the dosh, like Telecom and Vodafone you have a strong business if you can combine Voice, Data and Mobile services.

You think so?

With Orcon and their image as a fast broadband provider they may not be so interested in buying an EDGE based network.

You never know though..

Thats where my point comes in. You would buy it with the intention of introducing a national 3/4G network, and leverage 2D's marketshare, and brand recognition.

It would be differcult for a fully fledged, and funded new player to enter the market now, with 2D hogging the limelight and their sweet heart deals with VFNZ.

You would swoop in and buy up everything, finish the network and probably double your share over night.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#269781 3-Nov-2009 21:33

manhinli:
antbs:
langi27: I wonder if Kordia along with Orcon could front up with the dosh, like Telecom and Vodafone you have a strong business if you can combine Voice, Data and Mobile services.

You think so?

With Orcon and their image as a fast broadband provider they may not be so interested in buying an EDGE based network.

You never know though..

2degrees are rolling out 3G next year - don't think they'll reach 5% that fast :)

To roll out 3G they first need to find the cash to pay for the licence. That's the first step they have to overcome/

johnr

19282 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#269782 3-Nov-2009 21:34

cws82us: hope Optus get it. so that we can have cell phones and landline and pay tv with Optus. other pay tv provader will be good

Optus would need to buy more than a mobile network to provide these services

Frantastits

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#269791 3-Nov-2009 21:55

Sweet, cheers DrCheese!

Valid point #1

DrCheese "Also note that 2degrees customers are pre-pay and would switch to another company in the blink of an eye if prices went up too much. This could have a rapid and dramatic effect on the mooted 5% market share."

I'm really hoping to find good points like this that shoot my assessment down...

timestyles

424 posts

Ultimate Geek

#269807 3-Nov-2009 22:17

I am willing to bet $500 that 2 degrees won't or won't be able to sell to Vodafone or Telecom. Any takers? On the other hand, selling 2 degrees makes some degree of sense. I remember reading about one of the most recent investors (can't remember his name, sorry) saying that most of his investments were short term. If they do sell, I hope that they make a large profit. Let's not forget that Vodafone was initially owned by Bellsouth NZ which was sold to one Vodafone company, which was sold to another Vodafone company (I can't remember sorry, Vodafone Pacific maybe - it included Fiji). The price was absolutely huge - about $5,000 per contract customer.

Let's not forget another "Rumour", from http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=85&topicid=23655

breaking news - straight from the lips of a 'im not drunk' nz communications executive in a ponsonby bar during the wee small hours of this morning.
looks like we wont be hearing anything from these guys for a while.
and when we do it will be them announcing there departure rather than a launch party.
- they've burnt all there money. apparently at a rate of over 5 million a month!!!
- they havent built many cellsites
- some staff havent been paid for months
- some contractors havent been paid for the few sites theyve actually built
above is just highlights. he ranted about god knows how many other problems.
whole thing sounds like a pigsty.
i'd say the writing is on the wall!!!
did they actually have any money to begin with?! obviously not enough/
no doubt they'll blame it on that evil axis of telecom and vodafone.
maybe theyll wait until national get in so they can blame it on no more government handouts.
sounds like another tauranga telstra or if they're lucky they might do a woosh.
its a shame really. i wanted a new phone and lower prices. guess i should join all the other kiwis and move to australia.

TinyTim

1042 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#269909 4-Nov-2009 09:57

In today's Comms Day:

Rumours that 2 Degrees’ majority owners Trilogy International Partners will up stumps and sell the third
mobile network entrant once 5% market share is reached are untrue, the telco’s chief commercial officer Bill McCabe has said.

A poster on popular technology website Geekzone sparked off the rumours by positing that 2 Degrees
has “no plans whatsoever to solidify themselves as a genuine third mobile operator.”

Instead, the poster wrote, the business strategy for 2 Degrees is to sell the operation to the highest bidder once a 5% market share is reached. Vodafone or Telecom were mooted as the potential buyers of 2 Degrees.

Part of the reason for the deal is Maori fund Hautaki Trust allegedly having failed to raise NZ$20 million
to keep their shareholding in 2 Degrees intact and not diluted due to the increased share capital from Trilogy.

None of this is true, McCabe said. “We have no such strategy and nor do our share holders,” he said. Trilogy are not short term investors, having been in Bolivia for ten years already, according to McCabe and there’s no intention of selling at the suggested 5% market threshold. 2 Degrees is committed to providing long-term sustainable competition for New Zealand and value to its customers, McCabe said. He added that Hautaki may seek additional funding, but referred queries about the details to the Maori trust as it’s not an issue for 2 Degrees’ management.

Paulthagerous

698 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#269989 4-Nov-2009 12:53

Told you they'd respond :)

1 | 2 | 3