COMPANY PRESS RELEASE: NTT Communications Corporation has announced that it completed procedures to acquire Davnet Telecommunications Pty Ltd (Davtel), a provider of corporate IP communications services, on January 31, thereby making Davtel a fully owned subsidiary of NTT Com effective the same day.
At the same time, Davtel was renamed NTT Australia IP Pty Ltd (NTT Aust IP).
The new company, to be headed by Junichi Oka, will offer diverse, high-quality communications services. The service line-up will include existing In-Building Ethernet and HDSL Internet access services within Australia as well as new global products issued under the NTT/Verio brand, which is provided by NTT Com and its U.S.-based subsidiary Verio. NTT Aust IP has a total of 105 employees and has seconded 98 others to a voice-resale firm, QAI, of which NTT Aust IP owns an 83% stake.
Davtel, which was founded in 1998, was formerly owned by Davnet Limited and NTT Com.
NTT Com previously acquired a 49% stake in Davtel in December 1999 and participated in its management with Davnet. On November 25, 2001, NTT Com reached an agreement with Davnet through its local subsidiary, NTT Australia, to acquire the remaining 51% stake in Davtel (for A$16 million; approx: 1.12 billion yen). NTT Com recently obtained approvals from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and Davnet’s extraordinary general meeting, which enabled the company to complete its acquisition of Davtel shares.
The Australia-Japan Cable, an undersea fiber-optic cable which NTT Com helped to install, commenced operations in January 2002. NTT Com, through its subsidiaries including NTT Aust IP, will make most of the new network and continue to provide its customers in Australia with high-quality global IP services.
