Japan’s Advantage exits GTA TeleGuam to US investor
Japan-based Advantage Partners has agreed to sell its controlling stake in GTA TeleGuam, the principal telecommunications provider on the US island of Guam, to US-based family office Huntsman Family Investments (HFI).
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. A previous attempt to exit the company to Telekom Indonesia had reportedly valued the company at about $300 million. The sale is expected to close within the year pending federal and Guam regulatory approvals.
Advantage acquired 100% of the company from US-based GP Shamrock Capital Advisors in 2011 for an undisclosed amount via its JPY215 billion ($1.9 billion) fourth buyout fund. It agreed an exit to Telkom Indonesia in 2015, but the transaction was terminated a year later for reasons believed to be related to the regulatory process.
TeleGuam operates across broadband, pay-TV, wireless and fixed telephone services with a comprehensive infrastructure network. It is also part of a consortium constructing a submarine cable system to connect Southeast Asia with the US via Guam. Under Advantage ownership, the company has expanded its 4G capacity and negotiated low roaming rate agreements with overseas operators including Japan's SoftBank.
"Advantage Partners has been an exceptional partner over the last five years, by providing GTA with the necessary resources to transform into a full communications service provider and greatly enhancing our high-speed wireless and in home internet and TV experience for our customers," Robert Haulbrook, TeleGuam’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “HFI will enable our company to continue the development of the business to better serve the needs of our growing consumer, enterprise, and government customer base."
HFI is the private investment platform of the Jon M. Huntsman Sr. family. It counts Jon M. Huntsman Jr., former US ambassador to China and Singapore, as a senior advisor. Targeted asset classes include public and private equities, fixed income, real estate and international securities.
The TeleGuam acquisition follows an investment in American Pacific Corporation, a rocket fuel supplier to the US military. The two deals were characterized by the family office as part of an effort to maintain the integrity of national security interests in Asia Pacific.
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