After months of wrangling and shareholder protests, Seven has finally closed the book on its acquisition of wireless ISP Unwired.
Seven's AU$127 million buyout offer closed last night, with the broadcaster's subsidiary Network Holdings finishing up by acquiring a 93 percent shareholding in Unwired.Network Holdings will now be able to compulsorily acquire the remaining seven percent share in the company.
Unwired's directors earlier recommended shareholders accept Network's offer, for reasons including the premium the offer represented on Unwired's share price, the lack of a competing offer and uncertainty around competition in Australian broadband.
The directors also talked up the cost impact a nationwide WiMax rollout could have on the business and the threat it would pose to the company's share price if Unwired had to raise more investment to support it.
When the acquisition bid was first announced, Seven CEO Kerry Stokes said it hoped to use Unwired's WiMax spectrum as a content delivery mechanism in the future.
"Despite delays in the certification of the technology to date, we believe in the potential of WiMax as a mobile broadband solution and as an efficient platform for delivering content solutions in multicast and broadcast environments," he said.
