Optus' amaysim acquisition approved

By Alex Choros

Last updated 22 January 2021

Shareholders have approved Optus' plan acquire to amaysim, which will see Australia's largest MVNO folded under the Optus umbrella from February. The move will add 1.19 million subscribers to Optus' customer base, but amaysim will continue to operate as a standalone brand under the ownership of Optus, in the same way that Virgin Mobile previously did.

amaysim says the acquisition will help the business accelerate its growth.

"Over the last ten years, amaysim has successfully disrupted Australia’s mobile industry, providing customers with transparent plans and excellent customer service and this decision paves the way for the next chapter for the business," said CEO and founder Peter O'Connell.

"I am looking forward to seeing amaysim provide more value and crazy customer love, just as we have throughout our whole relationship with customers."

Prior to being acquired by Optus, amaysim acquired two smaller Optus network MVNOs itself: OVO and Jeenee Mobile.

When acquisition was first announced, Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin said the brand resonated with Australian consumers and made a commitment to keep it intact.

"Already underpinned by Optus’ premium 4G network, amaysim has a customer-oriented philosophy which very much aligns with Optus’ own customer-first approach," said Rosmarin. "Optus will keep the amaysim brand intact and this deal will provide the certainty and backing amaysim needs to power ahead and accelerate its growth in the MVNO segment."

Optus' acquisition of amaysim follows TPG's merger with Vodafone, which was made official in the middle of last year. The purchase seems designed to help Optus better compete with the new merged entity in the budget telco space. This could an important playing field, given TPG's reputation for aggressive pricing. In addition, Optus also launched its own new budget MVNO - gomo - at the end of last year.

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