TPG Telecom has failed in its bid to thwart the merger between rival telcos Amcom and Vocus after Amcom shareholders overwhelmingly backed the $1.2 billion tie up.
The proposed takeover had been on shaky ground after TPG bought a 19.9 per cent blocking stake in Amcom, but got across the line thanks to a concerted campaign from Amcom's board of directors.
That campaign led to a virtually unheard of turnout for a shareholder vote, with almost 90 per cent of Amcom's shares on issue cast at a meeting in Perth on Monday.
Of those, more than 77 per cent, or 180 million shares, were cast in favour of the merger, just ahead of the 75 per cent threshold needed for the bid to succeed.
The merger will create the third largest provider of corporate and office communications in Australia, behind Telstra and Optus.
It is expected to be completed on or around July 8, pending a Federal Court hearing on June 23.
Under the terms of the merger, Amcom shareholders will receive 0.46 Vocus shares for every Amcom share they own and the tie up is expected to save between $13 million and $15 million a year in costs, as well as opening the combined company up to greater growth opportunities.
Vocus kicked off the merger process when it bought a 10 per cent stake in Amcom.
It then offloaded that stake to several institutions last month because it was not allowed to vote its shares in favour of the deal, which TPG may challenge the legality of.
Amcom chairman Tony Grist said almost every shareholder that voted, other than TPG, had voted in favour of the combination with Vocus.
"This shareholder vote is something of a landmark given TPG held 19.99 per cent of Amcom and voted against the scheme," he said.
Vocus chief executive James Spenceley said the merged company was well positioned to benefit shareholders and capitalise on opportunities in the telecommunications sector.
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