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Amaysim’s A$70 million Vaya deal includes A$50 million in Optus debts.
Amaysim has bought out fellow Australian mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Vaya in a deal worth A$70 million (€46 million).
The price includes A$5 million in cash and A$15 million in stock, as well as the assumption of A$50 million in liabilities owed by Vaya to host network Optus. Amaysim will pay off the debt to Optus, also its host operator, over a two-year period.
Brisbane-based Vaya had approximately 140,000 subscribers at the end of November and occupies a strong position in the sub-A$20 segment in Australia, Amaysim said. The majority of Vaya customers take a A$18-per-month offer.
"Vaya’s online-only, strong market offering in the sub-$20 market segment complements Amaysim’s ‘customer champion’ position and creates greater scale to our online-driven platform and operating network," said Amaysim CEO Julian Ogrin, in a statement late last week.
"This is a rare opportunity to significantly grow our number of subscribers on the same network and in a complementary market segment," Ogrin said.
Amaysim will continue to operate Vaya as a separate brand; "it will be business as usual for both brands, under the strength of the Amaysim executive team," the company said.
Vaya was founded in 2011 and has 40 employees, both in Brisbane and at its Philippines-based call centre.
"Amaysim sees Vaya’s Philippines service centre as a great opportunity to create an overflow capacity for Amaysim and to fast-track our platform, Web and app development," Amaysim said.
Amaysim, which launched in late 2010, had 718,000 customers as of mid-2015, generating monthly ARPUs of just over A$26. The company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in July.
