Cashing in on a business they have been incubating since 2016, microcap surveying company Veris (ASX: VRS) has reeled in a big fish via their sale of telecommunications subsidiary Aqura Technology to telco powerhouse Telstra (ASX: TLS) for $30 million.
The $30m sale represents approximately 98% of Veris’ market capitalisation prior to the announcement.
Since 2016, Veris has been the sole owner of Aqura Technologies, but the board of Veris believes this sale would allow Telstra to facilitate Aqura’s potential growth after a failed demerger and public listing of the Aqura business back in August last year. This would present new opportunities for additional product offerings on top of its current business in industrial wireless-enterprise communication.
Veris’ Chairman, Karl Paganin, said “the sale of Aqura represented an important milestone in the history of Veris and is an excellent outcome for Veris shareholders and the Aqura team.”
“Whilst Aqura has been growing strongly under Veris’ ownership, the Board is of the view that the timing is right to sell the business to provide the Aqura team the opportunity to accelerate this growth further by accessing Telstra’s existing sales and customer channels, along with the balance sheet strength to fund further organic growth opportunities.”
Services such as these have been making the rounds throughout the mining industry within the past year, as Aqura has additionally signed deals with BHP and Fortescue Metals. Multiple contracts were signed with BHP in August 2021 worth a combined $5.1 million which was for communication infrastructure across its mining accommodation precincts.
During October 2021, Aqura also signed an agreement with DXC Technology to provide a connected entertainment network across a remote mining village in the Pilbara region.
Not only will this deal initiate a relationship for Telstra with major mining companies but enables a future in the development of 5G networks set up for mining applications across Australia. This was reinforced by the Federal Government Digital Business Plan 5G Innovative Initiative which handed a grant of $1.9 million back in August last year. The government funding on top of this most recent acquisition will advance Telstra’s position of being one of the leading providers of industrial automation solutions for Australia’s major miners.
Completion of the proposed transaction is set to be completed by 28 February 2022.
Since trading near its 2021 highs of $0.088, Veris stock hasn’t had much love, declining to $0.053 in December last year. Since the announcement, which was received well by investors, the stock quickly jumped 27% from $0.059 to $0.075.
Trading Desk Assistant at Emerald Financial
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