Vocus buys out 'strong' Stuff Fibre business

Local telco Vocus has bought out internet provider Stuff Fibre, but it won't say how much the deal is worth.

The deal, which is set to close on 20 May, reflects Vocus' confidence in Stuff Fibre's capabilities, particularly in 'uncertain times'.

Vocus New Zealand chief executive Mark Callander says Stuff Fibre is a strong business with great customer service satisfaction scores.

"Stuff Fibre has some great products, such as in-home Wi-Fi troubleshooting, which we will introduce to our existing customers and we'll work to bring Vocus products such as power and mobile services to the Stuff base."

He adds that Vocus recognises the value of bundled offerings such as fixed line broadband, mobile and energy services are always in demand.

Callander says Vocus will remain focused on increasing market share across these areas and deliver on customer experience expectations.

"This is a really positive move for us, we have always been clear that we want to be the telco provider for one in four Kiwi homes – whether that's through a residential service, or through wholesaling services to another retailer – and this purchase helps bring us closer to that goal.

Stuff fibre reportedly has 20,000 broadband customers on the books. Those customers will join almost 200,000 customers under the Vocus group of brands such as 2talk, Flip, Orcon, Slingshot, and Vocus.

Stuff chief Sinead Boucher says that the company launched Stuff Fibre in 2016.

"Our vision was to use the powerful scale, reach and trust of Stuff, Neighbourly and our newspapers to launch new businesses and supercharge their growth. This has proven a successful approach and we will continue to look for new opportunities to do the same in future.

"Stuff Fibre has won numerous best in market awards and reached a significant customer base with 20,000 Kiwis on-board and we are thrilled to see it go into the hands of new owners who can take it even further.

The divestment of Stuff Fibre from the Stuff portfolio could also hint at another death knell for the media and entertainment company, as plans to merge Stuff with NZME hit a brick wall again recently.

Callander says all Stuff Fibre staff will transfer to Vocus.

"We have grown our customer base by 10% overnight, when these opportunities arise, you need to grab them, just as we have done with Woosh and Orcon purchases previously," he concludes.

Vocus operates platforms across Australia and New Zealand.