Andrew Colley | August 19, 2008
BIGAIR has trained its sights on Commander's iBurst wireless broadband assets, according to a senior executive for the enterprise internet services firm.
BigAir has contacted Commander's receivers McGrathNicol
BigAir chief financial officer Patrick Choi said the firm was yet to lodge a formal bid for the network, but confirmed it had contacted Commander's receiver, McGrathNicol.
"We're looking at a number of opportunities and this definitely is one of them.
"There are a lot of cost synergies in being a large reseller and we still think there's a niche market that if approached correctly is quite profitable.
"We're in a fairly good position, seeing that we don't have any debts and we're doing quite well on cash flow, so yes it is something that, given the right circumstances, we'd be looking at," Mr Choi said. BigAir became the largest reseller of Commander's iBurst service in Australia after iiNet sold its customer base to the company November 2005.
At the time BigAir reported that it had about 7000 subscribers.
The iBurst network covers parts of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and the Gold Coast.
Mr Choi said BigAir could operate the network without taking on any large incremental costs.
Commander has been unsuccessful in finding a buyer for the business since chief executive Amanda Lacaze was appointed in an attempt to rescue the company from its precarious financial position last December.
However, the upcoming fire sale to be conducted by McGrathNicol may bring the price within reach of a buyer.
Commander's secured creditors placed the company in McGrathNicol's hands last week within hours of a decision by the telco's board to appoint voluntary administrator Ferrier-Hodgson to assume control of business.
However, any acquisition plans could be affected by sale conditions yet to be revealed.
"We're not sure what structure their going to pursue - whether they're going to encourage people to bundle big chunks of the business or try to maximise what they can get," he said.
A spokeswoman for McGrathNicol said the insolvency specialist planned to reveal details of the sale process today.
The announcements will coincide with a meeting of creditors conducted by voluntary administrator Ferrier-Hodgson, scheduled to take place in Sydney in this morning.
A spokesman for Ferrier-Hodgson said media would be excluded from the meeting but confirmed that voluntary administrator Max Donnelly would release statements on the Commander's position after the creditors' meeting.
BigAir's position is in sharp contrast with that of other potential buyers.
Commander's main rival in the fixed wireless broadband market, Seven Group's Unwired, said it was not interested in acquiring the iBurst network.
Similarly, emerging regional broadband wireless network operator Cirrus Communications said it had no interest in acquiring the network.
If the sale goes ahead, BigAir will become the third company to own the service in three years.
The network's original operator, Personal Broadband Australia, was sold to Commander in June 2005.