Vodafone New Zealand buys out PE partner in retail JV
Millennium Corp, a specialist technology, media, and telecom (TMT) investor operating in New Zealand and the Pacific region, has exited its 50% stake in Vodafone New Zealand’s retail stores.
Vodafone New Zealand has taken full ownership of what started out as a joint venture with Millennium 26 years ago. It represents the completion of a process that saw Vodafone New Zealand assume management control of its branded retail footprint in the country in 2019, having increased its stake in the JV from 25% to 50%. No information was given as to the size of either transaction.
Vodafone New Zealand was a subsidiary of London-listed Vodafone until 2019 when Infratil and Brookfield Asset Management completed a NZD 3.4bn (USD 2.2bn) acquisition.
The company is responsible for 41% of New Zealand’s mobile subscribers, 26% of its broadband connections, and 16% of its pay-TV connections. It serves more than 3m consumer and business users, maintaining a network comprising 10,000 kilometres of cable and over 1,550 mobile cell sites.
The retail footprint encompasses 52 Vodafone-branded stores. Vodafone New Zealand will also take on the employment contracts of the JV’s more than 400 staff. It will continue to work with Millennium in areas such as value-added supply chains, enterprise services, and online business.
“We formed the initial joint venture to bolster our retail capabilities and provide customer excellence when we did not have the in-house capability to do so. We strategically selected Millennium as a trusted and proven retail partner who shared our high standards, to help take our retail experience to the next level,” said Jason Paris (pictured, right), CEO of Vodafone New Zealand, in a statement.
“The partnership was always set up with a view that at some point in the future, as our customer care and omnichannel strategy evolved, Vodafone may bring it back in house, which is what we’ve announced today.”
Founded in 2012, Millennium has built a TMT investment business on the back of its success with the Vodafone retail operation. The firm has interests spanning intelligent supply chains and logistics, mobile networks and devices, retail, channel services, and enterprise services.
Ajay Sharma (pictured, left), director for new ventures at Millennium, said the firm would now focus on “upweighting [its] activity in the private equity space.” He added: “With operations in 18 markets across Oceania, our scale, channel reach, and access to macro-operating insights is rapidly evolving and we look forward to continuing to share this expertise with our customers.”
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