Western Power has deferred the sale of Bright Telecommuni-cations after turning around the subsidiary’s financial performance by focusing on niche Internet services.
Managing director Tony Iannello said Western Power had an open mind as to whether it would sell Bright or retain it as an operating business.
That is a big change from last year, when Western Power wrote-off its $23 million investment in Bright and said it would try to sell its assets. It called for expressions of interest and selected a short-list of two bidders, which were believed to be listed companies Amcom Telecommunications and People Telecom.
The attraction for companies like Amcom and People was Bright’s optic fibre cable network, which runs through the CBD and parts of South Perth, Como and Victoria Park, and would complement their existing broadband networks.
Mr Iannello said Bright had negative cash flow when Western Power decided to close it down but was now trading profitably.
He said Bright was focused on providing high-speed Internet services to commercial customers in the CBD and adjacent areas, and was winning new customers each month.
It was no longer targeting residential customers and was not seeking to expand or upgrade its existing infrastructure.
In light of these developments, Mr Iannello said, Western Power was reassessing Bright’s commercial value and evaluating whether the business should be sold or retained.
He anticipated making a decision by January next year.
Western Power’s recent annual report hinted at a change when it said a review concluded that “a sale of the Bright business as a going concern may yield a higher return than a sale of the assets of the project”.
If Western Power opted to proceed with a sale, it would seek to sell the operating business and lease the infrastructure. This would allow it to retain ownership of the optic fibre cables, which are used in its transmission business.
