Just received:

 

Vocus has entered an agreement to buy Stuff Fibre, which has 20,000 broadband customers, for an undisclosed sum.

 

Vocus New Zealand chief executive Mark Callander says the purchase fits with the company’s growth strategy, with Stuff customers joining Vocus’ almost 200,000 strong customer base.

 

“Stuff Fibre is a strong business, with great customer service satisfaction scores, and we are pleased to welcome them into the Vocus fold,” Callander says. “This is a really positive move for us, we have always been clear that we want to be the telco provider for one in four Kiwi homes – whether that’s through a residential service, or through wholesaling services to another retailer – and this purchase helps bring us closer to that goal.

 

“Stuff Fibre has some great products, such as in-home Wi-Fi troubleshooting, which we will introduce to our existing customers and we’ll work to bring Vocus products such as power and mobile services to the Stuff base. In recent years, Vocus has seen considerable growth in bundled offers, with customers recognising the value and convenience of consolidated utilities.”

 

Callander says buying a business during uncertain times shows that Vocus is confident that there are real opportunities to grow the business in the coming months and years. “We have grown our customer base by 10 per cent overnight, when these opportunities arise, you need to grab them, just as we have done with Woosh and Orcon purchases previously.

 

“Fixed line broadband, mobile and energy services are always in high demand, and we remain focused to further increasing our market share in these areas and continuing to deliver an exceptional customer experience.”

 

Stuff chief executive Sinead Boucher says “When we launched Stuff Fibre in 2016, our vision was to use the powerful scale, reach and trust of Stuff, Neighbourly and our newspapers to launch new businesses and supercharge their growth. This has proven a successful approach and we will continue to look for new opportunities to do the same in future.

 

“Stuff Fibre has won numerous best in market awards and reached a significant customer base with 20,000 Kiwis on-board and we are thrilled to see it go into the hands of new owners who can take it even further.”

 

The Stuff Fibre staff to will transfer to Vocus, Callander said.

 

The deal completes May 20.