Deal profile | Gadens advises Aussie Broadband on its acquisition of Over the Wire

Gadens has advised Aussie Broadband Limited (ASX: ABB) on its successful acquisition of Over the Wire Holdings Limited (ASX: OTW) by way of scheme of arrangement.

Founded in 2005, Over the Wire is a provider of telecommunications, cloud and IT solutions with offices across Australia.

The transaction valued Over the Wire at $344 million and provided Over the Wire shareholders with the option to receive their consideration in the form of cash, shares in Aussie Broadband or a combination of each.

Gadens has worked with Aussie Broadband since its IPO, including more recently on its $114 million institutional placement and follow-on share purchase plan to support its growth initiatives. The OTW acquisition will accelerate the growth of Aussie Broadband’s business segment, through the addition of highly skilled and expert staff, expansion into adjacent capabilities, product growth and the addition of recurring and contracted customer revenue.

Commenting on the transaction, partner Jol Rogers said:

“We are delighted to have supported the Aussie Broadband Board and management team on its first major acquisition since listing. The transaction is strategically compelling and marks a significant milestone in the growth of the company.”

The acquisition highlights Gadens’ expertise in regulated M&A having recently advised the formerly ASX-listed The Citadel Group Ltd on its acquisition by scheme of arrangement , the merger of BlackWall Property Trust, Planloc Limited and WOTSO Limited to form the triple-stapled structure ‘WOTSO Property’ (ASX: WOT) and 3P Learning Ltd (ASX:3PL) on its proposed scheme of arrangement with suitor IXL Learning Ltd and subsequent merger-of-equals with Blake eLearning Pty Ltd.

Deal value: $344 million.

Practice group: Corporate.

Key team members: The team was led by corporate partner Jol Rogers who was supported by Steven Wambeek (Senior Associate), Gary Lim (Senior Associate) and Chris Lau (Associate). The corporate team was supported by Natalie McCabe (Special Counsel), who coordinated the court process for Aussie Broadband, together with a number of the other practice groups in the firm who conducted due diligence including Intellectual Property and Technology, Employment Advisory and Real Estate and Construction.