Allens has advised a consortium comprising Morrison & Co, Brookfield Asset Management and Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation on the $3.7 billion acquisition of Uniti Group.
Uniti Group Limited is the second largest fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) provider in Australia and owns fibre broadband builders OptiComm and LBNCo, and Telstra’s former FTTP business, Velocity.
'We are delighted to have supported the consortium on this significant acquisition. This is a remarkable transaction in the telecommunications sector and we look forward to seeing the business continue to support Australian connectivity,' said lead Partner Tom Story.
'This acquisition demonstrates the value long-term investors see in telecommunications fibre networks, underpinned by the ever increasing reliance by households on high-speed broadband services and the growth in data transit volumes. Uniti Group has grown quickly to become a key player in the telecommunications market and we are proud to have worked on this transaction,' said head of the Allens Telecommunications, Media and Technology practice Gavin Smith.
The deal is the latest in a sequence of large and complex digital infrastructure transactions on which Allens has advised during 2022, including the sale of TPG's passive mobile tower and rooftop infrastructure assets to OMERS, Australia Tower Network's acquisition of Axicom and the acquisition by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board of a 70% interest in Spark New Zealand's telecommunications towers business.
Allens legal team
M&A
Tom Story (lead Partner), Emin Altiparmak (Partner), Joy Yoon (Senior Associate), Tom Hall (Senior Associate), Sassica Hoolahan (Senior Associate), Krish Nadarajah (Associate), Adam Silver (Associate), Alisha D'Souza (Associate), Olivia Seymour (Lawyer)
Telecommunications, Media & Technology
Gavin Smith (Partner), Elyse Adams (Partner), William Coote (Managing Associate), Florence Tan (Senior Associate), Martin Carter (Associate), Lewis Graham (Associate), Olivia Morris (Lawyer), Art Honeysett (Lawyer)
Real Estate
Victoria Holthouse (Partner), Tom Wilson (Senior Associate)
Banking & Finance
Tim Stewart (Partner), Aoife Mulford (Senior Overseas Practitioner), Nick Swart (Senior Associate), Sam Forsyth (Senior Associate), Shehan Canagasingham (Associate), Alex Jeffares (Lawyer)
Employment
Sikeli Ratu (Partner), Tegan Ayling (Senior Associate)
Intellectual Property
Joel Barrett (Partner), Max Jones (Associate)
Competition, Consumer & Regulatory
Wendy Rae (Partner), Rosannah Healy (Partner), James Somerville (Managing Associate), Jessica Jane (Senior Associate)
Court Process
Kim Reid (Partner), Alexandra McCaughan (Managing Associate), Xander Jackman (Associate)
Notes for editors.
Allens is a commercial law firm working throughout Australia and Asia. Through its integrated alliance with Linklaters it provides clients access to 40 offices in 28 countries around the world.