TRINIDAD-TELECOM-TSTT buys out rival company

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, May 3, CMC – The state-owned Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire 100 per cent of Massy Communications Limited.
TSTT said that, once all regulatory approvals are met, the agreement will cost TT$255 million (One TT dollar =US$0.16 cents).
TSTT said in a statement that the purchase agreement it capitalises on the synergies of both companies, in a way that is mutually beneficial.
It said that a significant part of TSTT’s current strategic plan involves deployment of both wired and wireless high-speed broadband internet capabilities throughout the country, including investment in fibre optic solutions together with the associated technological infrastructure and systems.
The statement noted that since 2006, Massy Communications had been building its telecom network and expanding its services.
TSTT chairman Emile Elias said its competitors, which includes Cable and Wireless’s Flow, TSTT’s blink and Digicel Play, should now view the move “with terror”.
“I hope they are terrified, as they should be. We are aggressively pursuing our agenda,” he said.
Massy Communications chairman Fenwick Reid, said the company invested TT$213 million in its cable layout, but it was off-­loading it because there were too many players in the market and TSTT will “take it where the business needs to go.
“Given the competitive landscape for high-speed broadband and TV services in Trinidad and the intense capital costs of deploying fibre optic networks, some industry participants have been seeking collaborative ways to avoid duplicative capital expenditure”.
Massy said that since making the “bold” decision to invest significantly in the expansion of the fibre network in 2015, it has deployed “next generation fibre to the home (FTTH) infrastructure which now serves about 34,000 homes throughout the country and covers more than 900 route kilometres.
TSTT chief executive officer, Dr Ronald Walcott, said the agreement “marks a historical moment for the telecommunications industry in Trinidad and Tobago in general and for the management, staff and all stakeholders of TSTT in particular.
“As part of TSTT’s current TT$3.8 billion five-year strategic plan, we clearly indicated we have one primary mandate and that is to transform TSTT from a legacy 20th century telecoms provider, to an agile broadband communications company. To achieve this goal, we always intended to employ a multi-prong approach, using both organic and inorganic growth strategies.”