Alphawest on the up

Alphawest's announcement of a partnership deal with Optus to deliver Voice Over Internet Protocol services via satellite has coincided with a rise in the company’s share price to near the level of its original listing.

The shares jumped to 54 cents on Tuesday, putting the value of the shares near the 55 cents they were in April when the company completed a backdoor listing using AIS Corporation as the vehicle.

The shares dropped as low as 40 cents in June and had gained little ground until news of the deal with Optus.

The Perth-based IT solutions company is busy establishing itself as a leader in VoIP integration – tipped to be the big trend in 2004 as business seeks to cut phone bills by switching existing phone systems to VoIP.

The deal with Optus is viewed as providing more credibility and cost effectiveness to the company’s offerings.

“Working with Optus will further ensure our clients have options to operate more cost-effectively and efficiently through the communication solutions we can now offer,” Alphawest CEO Garry Henley said in a statement announcing the deal.

He said the company had a strong national team of specialists in IP telephony, storage, communications and networking.

The company raised $11 million through the backdoor listing in April and used approximately $8.9 million to clear significant debt overhanging the group from former parent Solution 6.

Solution 6 owned Alphawest until a 2002 management buy-out.

At the time, Solution 6 provided $15.5 million in vendor finance after initially purchasing the company for $49 million.