Telstra buys Pacnet for US$697m to boost expansion in Asia

Melbourne

TELSTRA Corp will acquire Pacnet Ltd, which operates undersea cables through Asia and across the Pacific Ocean, as Australia's largest phone company seeks to expand in the region.

The US$697 million transaction, which includes gross debt of about US$400 million, will be completed by mid-2015, subject to regulatory and Pacnet financier approvals, Melbourne-based Telstra said. Singapore and Hong Kong-based Pacnet will give Telstra services including an expanded data centre network, more submarine cables and major customers across the region, it said.