Comms Group to sell onPlatinum to efex for $30m

Comms Group has entered into a binding share sale agreement to divest its IT managed services division, onPlatinum, to Thinkex Holdings Pty Ltd trading as efex for a total consideration of A$30 million, subject to customary completion adjustments.

Consideration includes an upfront cash payment of A$28.5 million and A$1.5 million held in escrow for twelve months, payable subject to completion of agreed conditions that are expected to be met.

Upon completion of the transaction, Comms Group and efex will have entered into a transition services arrangement whereby Comms Group will continue to provide telco related services to onPlatinum and efex and similarly, onPlatinum will continue to provide a range of services to Comms Group related businesses.

onPlatinum, acquired by Comms Group in 2022 for $12 million and ranked number nine in the 2016 Fast50, expanded the company’s managed IT services, cloud and mid-market customer capabilities and expanded the Group’s presence in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

The divestment is consistent with Comms Group’s renewed strategic focus on its core cloud communications, unified communications, domestic telecoms and global services businesses

The transaction is expected to strengthen the company’s balance sheet and provide additional flexibility to invest in organic growth and product development, but the divestment of onPlatinum will reduce Group revenue and earnings.

The proceeds from the divestment will be applied in accordance with Comms Group’s capital allocation framework, including reducing net debt and strengthening the company’s balance sheet, as well as providing a capital return/distribution to shareholders.

Comms Group CEO and MD Peter McGrath, said onPlatinum has been an important part of Comms Group since joining the Group in 2022.

"The business has built a strong reputation in managed IT services, with a loyal customer base and a talented team," he said.

"I would like to acknowledge the onPlatinum team for their contribution to Comms Group and for the quality business they have helped build. This transaction allows both Comms Group and onPlatinum to pursue their respective strategic priorities with greater focus.

"For Comms Group, the divestment releases capital, strengthens our balance sheet, and enables management to concentrate on our core cloud communications, unified communications and global telco growth strategy. We believe this is the right strategic step for Comms Group and its shareholders, and we look forward to updating the market as the transaction progresses.”

efex founder and CEO Nick Sheehan said the acquisition reflected a deliberate strategy: build national scale without losing the local relationships customers value.

“onPlatinum is exactly the kind of business we like to bring into efex - a high quality team with deep customer relationships and real technical credibility," he said.

Already this year, efex has acquired Crowd IT and Compusult.

FY26 trading update sees increase in figures

Comms Group also provided a trading update for FY26, noting that FY26 Revenue is expected to be between $74 million to $75 million, an increase of 31.8% (midpoint guidance vs pcp).

FY26 Underlying EBITDA is expected to be between $8 million and $8.5 million, an increase of 44.7% (mid-point guidance vs pcp).

Underlying EBITDA guidance includes circa $500,000 in duplicated mainland network costs within the Next and TasmaNet businesses; these duplicated costs will be removed during FY27.

The company advised that the integration of TasmaNet, acquired  last year for $10 million, is on track and set to be fully integrated in June/July 2026.

Comms Group delivered revenue ($56.6 million) and underlying EBITDA ($5.7 million) for FY25 at the top end of its guidance range.