Telstra considers buying Digicel Group’s Pacific operations

Australian telecommunications company Telstra Corporation says it was in discussions to buy Digicel Group's Pacific operations.

It said the negotiations will have the support of  the Australian government, which will likely fund the majority of  the deal amount.

The deal could be worth 2 billion Australian dollars with the Australian government paying about 1.5 billion dollars.

Telstra said it was approached by the government to provide technical advice initially on Digicel Pacific.

Digicel Pacific is a leading telecom provider in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.

Its regional operations generated core earnings of  US$235 million in 2020 with strong margins.