Australian telecommunications giant Telstra has completed its acquisition of the Pacific arm of Digicel, with its C.E.O. assuring workers in its six markets including Samoa there will not be any job losses.

The completion of the regulatory processes formalising the acquisition was announced in a joint statement issued by Telstra and Digicel on Thursday with the Australian telco advising that it will also continue to invest in its markets in Papua New Guinea (PNG), Fiji, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.

“We’re very pleased to welcome Digicel Pacific into the Telstra family. The Digicel Pacific team in Samoa have amazing local expertise and are leaders in digital experiences for their customers.  Together, we’ll work to ensure Digicel remains the top provider in Samoa,” said Oliver Camplin-Warner, the Telstra International CEO.

There have been fears that the sale of the Pacific arm of the Caribbean-headquartered Digicel Group will lead to job losses. But Mr Camplin-Warner allayed fears of any “local job losses in the Pacific as part of the acquisition” in the joint statement. 

“Digicel Pacific will still have the same people and products that their Samoan customers know and love today,” he said. “Telstra will add to these strengths with our more than one hundred years’ experience building and operating the largest mobile network in Australia, and our operations in more than 20 countries world-wide.”

Specifically, in relation to its Samoan market, Shally Jannif, Regional CEO, Digicel Pacific Hub Markets, said Telstra’s expertise in rolling out a world-class network and connecting remote communities would greatly enhance the work to date of Digicel and benefit the people and businesses of Samoa.

“Telstra has experience connecting regional and remote customers in challenging geographies across mountains, deserts, rainforests and coastlines,” Ms Jannif said.

“We’re looking forward to Telstra applying its network experience as well as its innovation and technology solutions to Samoa to continue increasing connectivity in the region.”

Mr Camplin-Warner said the values of both Telstra and Digicel Pacific were a natural fit, with the companies committed to working together to build a connected future for everyone.

“We strongly believe we are “better together”, and this includes how we both work to support some of the most vulnerable in our communities,” he said in the joint statement.

 “Telstra strongly supports Digicel Pacific’s grass roots community investments and disaster recovery efforts in Samoa, and we are committed to seeing this work continue.” 

Mr Camplin-Warner said Telstra had been working closely with Pacific Governments and regulators on the acquisition and thanked them for cooperation and support.

The conclusion of Telstra's acquisition of Digicel Pacific hit a snag late last year – when the PNG Government advised of its intention to introduce taxes targeting firms in the telecommunications and banking sector – which enjoy close to 50 per cent of the market share. 

The tax owed to the PNG Government was reportedly close to US$100 million with the Digicel Group threatening to go to court as it would have impacted the AUD$2.1 billion sale of its six Pacific Island markets to Telstra. However, it is understood negotiations between the Digicel Group and the PNG Prime Minister James Marape led to assurances that the new tax will not be introduced, opening the door for Telstra's acquisition of Digicel Pacific. 

Digicel Pacific reportedly has 2.5 million mobile phone subscribers across the six markets with most of them based in PNG.