Telstra's Acquisition of Pacnet Brings Asia-Pac Submarine Cables

Telstra announced plans to acquire Pacnet Limited, which owns and operates a pan-Asian submarine cable network and offers managed services and data center services to carriers, multinational corporations and governments across the region, for US$697 million acquisition is subject to completion adjustments.

In addition to its submarine cables and 21 landing stations in China, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, Pacnet’s core assets comprise an integrated network with 109 PoPs across 61 cities in the Asia-Pacific region, along with 29 data centers in key locations. Seven of the data centers have Tier III accreditation. In addition, Pacnet controls two of the five fibre pairs on the Unity trans-Pacific submarine cable network connecting Japan to the United States.

In the year ended December 2013, Pacnet generated revenues of US$472m and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$111m. Pacnet is headquartered in both Singapore and Hong Kong with approximately 815 employees across 25 offices (including PBS China).

Telstra Chief Executive Officer, David Thodey said the acquisition was aligned to Telstra’s growth strategy and was a significant step for Telstra as it continued to expand the business beyond Australia.

“Asia is an important part of our growth strategy. We believe this acquisition will help us become a leading provider of enterprise services to multinational companies and carriers in the region,” stated David Thodey, Telstra's CEO.  “The enterprise services market is evolving rapidly and Pacnet will strengthen our networks; data centres and submarine network as well as boosting our service offerings and people capabilities."

Pacnet Chief Executive Officer Carl Grivner said: "The addition of Pacnet’s subsea fibre network, data centre assets, capability in China, and dedicated employee base to Telstra's world-class infrastructure and management will give it the ability to accelerate business growth in the region.

http://www.telstra.com.au/
http://www.pacnet.com

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Elemental Lands Investments from Sky and Telstra

Elemental Technologies, a start-up focused on software-defined video (SDV) solutions for multiscreen content delivery, announced a $14.5 million series D round of funding led by Telstra and joined by Sky in the UK, along with participation from existing investors.

Elemental, which is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, uses software-based video processing to distribute video over IP networks. Elemental helps media companies connect consumers with video content across multiple screens – including connected TVs, computers, tablets, smartphones, set-top, and other IP devices – using software-defined video solutions to ensure high quality, high definition viewing experiences.  Elemental’s key multiscreen accounts include the BBC, Comcast, Foxtel, HBO, Media Prima, NHK, Telefónica, and TrueVisions.

“Telstra’s equity investment, soon to be combined with a commercial agreement that is currently being negotiated, will allow the company to integrate solutions from Elemental into the company’s network. This will provide media and broadcast customers with access to an award winning video solution for multiscreen content delivery and offer flexibility and scalability to ensure a great customer experience," stated Telstra Ventures Managing Partner, Mark Sherman. "We also plan to use Elemental’s solutions internally, across our large portfolio of media properties such as IPTV, Foxtel on T-Box, AFL, NRL and BigPond movies to deliver high quality video performance across a multitude of devices for customers.”

http://www.elementaltechnologies.com

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