Vicky Brady (Telstra)
Telstra has confirmed it is putting a bid forward to purchase Melbourne-based cloud consulting company, Versent.
A report in AFR’s StreetTalk pointed to the two in discussions, with Telstra later confirming to the ASX that talks are indeed in the process.
Telstra said references to the value of the offer were speculative and that there was no certainty that a transaction would eventuate.
The move will bolster the telco’s desire to lean more towards the IT services space.
In May, it was revealed that Versent was searching for suitors as sale documents hit the hands of buyout funds.
This was according to reports that potential suitors received the information memorandum from investment bank Goldman Sachs, which was appointed at the tail end of last year.
Versent has been on an impressive growth trajectory since its inception. Its Stax business has been touted as a lucrative part of the deal, which is no surprise considering a recent multi-year, multi-million dollar collaboration agreement signed with Amazon Web Services (AWS) that will aid its global expansion goals.
In August, Telstra marked the first full year of its T25 strategy, displaying continued financial growth and positive momentum during FY23.
Telstra CEO, Vicky Brady said its digital infrastructure business InfraCo was seeing strong customer demand shaped by the shift to the cloud and rapid AI adoption driving data centre and edge requirements, along with needs for domestic fibre and undersea cable.
“The infrastructure investments we are making, including our inter‐city fibre network and submarine cable network, will underpin a more digitised future and see us strategically positioned for growth,” she said.
"We also continue to invest in capabilities and partnerships to grow our offering in areas including artificial intelligence, data analytics, Internet of Things, and cyber security, and I am optimistic about the potential for growth in these areas beyond T25.”
