Chorus, Telecom New Zealand take first steps as separate companies

Telecom New Zealand (NYSE: NZT) has officially taken another step as a newly split company as it and its former wholesale arm Chorus (NZSE: CNU) both began trading on the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges.

The new Telecom Corp. debuted on the New Zealand stock exchange at NZD 1.97 (USD 1.46) on Wednesday while the Chorus wholesale division debuted at NZD 3.03 (USD 2.24), respectively.

Chorus began trading under the CNU ticker symbol on the NZSE on a deferred settlement basis on Nov. 23, with trading on a normal settlement basis to start on Nov. 25. Chorus also began trading on Australia's ASX stock exchange on a deferred trading. Similar to New Zealand, Chorus will commence on a normal settlement basis on the ASX on Dec. 1.

TNZ had to agree to separate its retail and wholesale business (Chorus) into to two separate companies in order to participate in the New Zealand government's Ultra-fast Broadband (UFB) initiative. Already, Chorus has won contracts from Crown Fibre Holdings, the operator of the UFB initiative, won contracts to build out network and services in 24 urban areas, including Auckland and Wellington.

When the demerger is complete on Nov. 30, the former state-run Telecom Corp. will continue to operate its wireless network, but purchase wireline-based copper services from Chorus on a wholesale basis to sell broadband and voice services to its retail customer base.

For more:
- Reuters has this article

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