Swoop picks up 16.9% stake in Vonex after buyout rejected to challenge MaxoTel’s $34M offer

Telecommunications company Swoop (ASX:SWP) has grabbed a 16.9% stake in Vonex (ASX:VN8) for an average 4 cents per share, or a total $2.45 million.

The company made an offer for Vonex at 4cps only days ago, around two months after MaxoTel put in a $34M offer on the company. Vonex shares closed on Tuesday at 4.1cps; it has a market cap of $14M.

When Swoop made that offer at Vonex earlier this month, Vonex had a share price of 3.75cps. The former expects to grow earnings before costs by $5M per year if it was able to snatch all of the company.

Early outlook combined revenues would be just short of $140M in that universe, Swoop calculated. Vonex, for its part, told its shareholders to go with MaxoTel instead.

“The Vonex Board does not consider the Swoop offer to be superior to [MaxoTel] … Vonex’s board continues to recommend shareholders vote in favour of the arrangement with MaxoTel,” Vonex wrote last Friday.

Maxo Telecommunications is a privately held Australian telco company on something of an acquisition spurt of late. It acquired an NZ asset, Zintel Ltd, as well as a Fonebox Contact Centre from Aussie Broadband (ASX:ABB) back in February of 2023.

Then it June, it made Vonex an offer.

But Swoop Holdings doesn’t intend to let that deal through – made clear in its announcement on Wednesday – clearly preferring its own vision for the company. That could have merit: non-exec Deputy Chair Tony Grist previously co-founded and chaired Amcom Telecommunications, leading a merger with Vocus.

Amcom would then become iiNet’s largest shareholder.

“Swoop continues to believe its proposal stands to create significant value for both Vonex and Swoop shareholders and represents superior value to the MaxoTel Scheme,” Swoop wrote.

“Swoop does not support the MaxoTel Scheme and currently does not intend to vote its Vonex stake in favour of it.”

Swoop has also approached its financier Westpac for, in layman’s terms, a loan to fund the acquisition of Vonex.

SWP last traded at 23cps; VN8 at 4.1cps.