Australia's Telstra completes Digicel Pacific buyout
By Renju Jose
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Telstra Corp Ltd on Thursday said it had completed the acquisition of Digicel Pacific, backed by funding from the Australian government, after a tax dispute between Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Digicel threatened to stall the sale process.
Digicel in April said it was considering legal options after PNG imposed a tax of almost $100 million that the Jamaica-headquartered telecom firm said could affect the planned $1.6 billion sale of its Pacific operations to Telstra.
"With respect to the Papua New Guinea additional company tax, (Digicel) has made arrangements to resolve the matter with the PNG tax authorities," Telstra said in a statement. "Telstra is not part of this process, and the outcomes of this process are a matter for (Digicel)."
Digicel said in a statement that it had placed $99.4 million in an escrow account pending a "binding international arbitration process" in Singapore with Papua New Guinea, which it said had agreed to waive a further PGK 50 million ($13.8 million) sought in respect of non-payment of the tax to date.
The office of PNG Prime Minister James Marape did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
Telstra in October 2021 agreed to buy the Pacific operations of Digicel, with the Australian government providing $1.33 billion and Telstra contributing $270 million.
Digicel, founded by Irish billionaire Denis O'Brien, is the largest mobile phone carrier in the Pacific, with about 2.8 million subscribers and has operations in countries including Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu - the most lucrative being those in PNG.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her government's support for the deal "reflects our commitment to help build a stronger Pacific family through investment in high-quality infrastructure."
Before the deal was announced, there were market and media speculation of Chinese companies interested in making a bid, which would have been a cause of concern for Australia amid rising competition between ally the United States and China in the Pacific.
The announcement by Telstra comes as leaders of the Pacific countries meet in Fiji for a four-day summit where climate change and tensions between Washington and Beijing have dominated meetings.
China is looking to forge greater ties across the region, proposing a broader trade and security deal with 10 Pacific nations that recognise Beijing, but which is opposed by some nations.
($1 = 3.6166 kinas)
(Reporting by Renju Jose; Additional reporting by Conor Humphries in Dublin; Editing by Christopher Cushing and David Evans)
