New Zealand’s Spark on Tuesday announced that it will buy back up to NZ$100 million wor th of shares during the course of this year to shore up its balance sheet in the wake of asset sales.
The telco said it will buy back up to 40 million ordinary shares.
"Following recent divestments, including Telecom Rentals Limited and its 60% stake in Telecom Cook Islands, Spark New Zealand’s balance sheet is now under-levered," the operator said.
"The purpose of the on-market share buyback is to return gearing to a more appropriate level for the company."
Spark completed the NZ$106 million sale of ICT and telecoms equipment leasing firm Telecom Rentals to FlexiGroup at the end of April. It offloaded its stake in the Cook Islands incumbent to Teleraro for NZ$23 million in February as part of a strategic move to focus primarily on its domestic operations.
Separately on Tuesday, Spark said it is close to launching rural Internet services via its 4G network using 700 MHz spectrum.
It has begun trialling the wireless broadband product with its own staff and will extend trials to customers next week.
"We think the right thing to do by customers is to carry out trials of the product so we can get valuable feedback from both staff and customers and make the necessary improvements to the product and the experience ahead of its launch," said Lindsay Cowley, general manager of wholesale and product for Spark.
The product will be different from other wireless broadband offers because it does not require a technician to install it and does not use external antennas, Cowley said. As such, it is quicker and cheaper to deploy.
Spark has not disclosed when it expects to launch the product commercially.
