Aussie Broadband sells down Superloop stake

Aussie Broadband is selling down part of its 19.9 percent stake in Superloop, after legal action to maintain the shareholding failed.

Aussie Broadband's Phillip Britt.

The retail service provider bought the shares as part of an unsolicited takeover bid for Superloop that it made in late February.

Superloop’s board turned down the offer, which valued the company at $466 million, saying it was “opportunistic and fundamentally undervalues Superloop”.

It also emerged that by buying more than 12 percent of Superloop, Aussie Broadband put itself on the wrong side of Singapore’s Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA), which required a say due to Superloop having some Singapore-based operations.

Superloop directed Aussie Broadband to divest shares to get back under the 12 percent cap.

On March 19, Aussie Broadband sought an injunction to allow it to keep the full 19.9 percent stake, but late on Thursday afternoon last week, it announced [pdf] that the court had dismissed its application.

Today [pdf], Aussie Broadband said it reached an agreement with an unnamed buyer for nearly 38 million Superloop shares at $1.31 per share.

This leaves Aussie Broadband with a stake of 11.99 percent in Superloop.