Vocus purges $40m stake in MacTel

Vocus has sold down its entire stake in Macquarie Telecom for $40m as it continues to refocus following a leadership change last year.

MacTel said in a financial filing that Vocus had sold its whole stake – some 16 percent of MacTel’s issued share capital – via a block trade at $12.20 a share.

A Vocus spokesperson declined to comment on the selldown.

However, it is understood to be a vestige of the company’s previous management (some of whom – including founder James Spenceley – were ousted late last year following a failed leadership coup) and no longer considered core to Vocus' strategy.

Vocus took much of its stake - $15.6 million for 14.5 percent of the company - in April 2015.

It was positioned as a "strategic investment", though it was speculated at the time that it may have been made to ward off suitors from snapping up either MacTel or Vocus.

MacTel said the divested shares had been taken up by a mix of “new institutional and retail shareholders”, and would increase its trading liquidity and shareholder diversity.

Macquarie Telecom’s CEO David Tudehope said in a statement he was “confident that all shareholders will benefit from the continued growth in our hybrid IT and telecom businesses”.

Further comment was being sought from a MacTel spokesperson at the time of publication.