Davis To Head Up Cellnet
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday August 11, 1999
Mobile phone product distributor Cellnet Telecommunications has snared the American-born former managing director of Nortel Australia as its chairman ahead of a planned $30 million to $40 million float and listing later this year.
Mr Brian Davis, a former AT&T executive who briefly worked with former Telstra chief executive Mr Frank Blount in the early 1980s, will become independent chairman ahead of the listing.
Mr Davis said yesterday that the company hoped to list in September or October, but he would not reveal further details.
Brisbane broker Wilson HTM is believed to be putting together a draft prospectus for the float, which will enable the partial selldown of major shareholders, including the co-founders, Mr Mel Brookman and Mr Stephen Harris, and Macquarie Bank's direct investments division, which invested more than $8 million three years ago.
The float is expected to value the business between $60 million and $80 million.
Cellnet distributes hand sets and other mobile phone accessories Australia-wide to dealers and carriers.
About 70 per cent of the Australian market is dominated by the manufacturers themselves, who distribute directly to the major service providers.
The balance is shared between Cellnet and several other players, including Brightpoint and Telepacific.
Mr Davis said the explosion in data traffic the fastest growing segment of the telecommunications market also augured well for the mobiles market, the second fastest growing segment.
``There's a constant churn of new technology and that will keep the growth going for some time," he said.
In addition to rising penetration of mobiles, more growth would come as data traffic increasingly moved from wireline into wireless or mobile networks.
© 1999 Sydney Morning Herald
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