Amaysim
Amaysim (branded as amaysim) is an Australian provider of mobile phone plans. Amaysim operates as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator on the Optus 4G network,[1] and specialises in offering a range of SIM-only mobile plans.
Type | Public Company |
---|---|
ASX: AYS | |
Industry | Telecommunications |
Founded | November 2010 |
Founder | Peter O'Connell, Rolf Hansen, Christian Magel, Thomas Enge, Andreas Perreiter |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | Australia |
Key people | Peter O'Connell (CEO) |
Products | Mobile phone plans |
Revenue | A$212.6 million |
A$59.5 million | |
Number of employees | 130 |
Website | www |
As of 31 December 2017, Amaysim group had just under 1.13 million mobile subscribers and 13,000 broadband subscribers.[2]
History
Amaysim was founded as an Australian telecommunications provider by Peter O'Connell, Rolf Hansen, Christian Magel, Thomas Enge and Andreas Perreiter in November 2010.[3]
Amaysim became a publicly listed company following an IPO/share offer[4] and launched on the ASX under code AYS in July 2015.[5]
In January 2016, Amaysim acquired Vaya, another Australian mobile virtual network operator for A$70 million.[6]
Amaysim entered the broadband market in July 2016 with the acquisition of Internet service provider AusBBS for $4 million ($1 million in cash, $1.5 million in Amaysim shares on completion and another $1.5 million in shares one year after completion).[7]
In early 2017, the Amaysim group acquired the online energy retailer Click Energy for $120 million in a move to extend its range of services to Australian households.[8]
In October 2018, Amaysim sold all of its 15,000 broadband customers to Southern Phone for $3 million and stopped reselling broadband services.[9] The company cited "unsustainably high wholesale costs, intense competition and the need to allocate the company's capital appropriately" as reasons for the exit.[10]
In December 2019, Amaysim acquired Jeenee Mobile, a mobile virtual network operator for $7.8 million. Jeenee Mobile's existing 41,700 customers were migrated to Amaysim's sister brand Vaya.[11]
In June 2020, Amaysim acquired OVO, a mobile virtual network operator for $15.8 million. The deal added 77,000 mobile subscribers to Amaysim's subscriber base.[12]
In September 2020, AGL Energy signed an agreement to acquire Click Energy from Amaysim for $115 million.[13][14]
On 2 November 2020, Amaysim entered into a share sale agreement with Optus, where Optus acquires 100% of Amaysim shares for A$250 million. While subject to an ordinary resolution by shareholders, if they achieve 50% approval of the transaction, Amaysim has an indicative plan to de-list and wind up in June 2021.[15]
Controversy
Between October 2017 to March 2018, its online energy retailer, Click Energy told its consumers that they could receive discounts between 7-29% below its market energy offers if they paid their bills on time and that consumers could save between $84 to $946 if they switched to Click Energy. In March 2019, the Federal Court of Australia ordered penalties of AU$900,000 for misleading claims because discounts were calculated on their market offer rates which were higher than their standing offer rates available to all consumers, while savings were calculated based on estimated savings if they paid on time rather than if they switched to Click Energy.[16] In addition, Click Energy was ordered to send each affected customer a notice correcting the misleading claims.[17]
In January 2020, Amaysim published an advertisement on Twitter that included the statement "…your mother loves the Unlimited Mobile Data offer from amaysim’ and the hashtag ‘#UnlimitedMobileData" when its plan only provided unlimited data for the first three renewals, before reverting to a capped amount. On October 2020, amaysim was fined AU$126,000 by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for misleading advertising, misrepresenting the "unlimited" data it claimed to provide in its advertisement.[18]
References
- "amaysim SIM card - Coverage". amaysim Australia. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- Barbaschow, Asha (26 February 2018). "Subscribers up but profit down for Amaysim in 2018 first half". ZDNet. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- "amaysim Company Backgrounder" (PDF). amaysim Australia Ltd. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- "amaysim Prospectus - (amaysim Offer)". www.amaysimsharesoffer.com.au. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- "Mobile reseller Amaysim's ASX debut opens little changed". Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- Reichert, Corinne (3 January 2016). "Amaysim acquires Vaya for AU$20m, inherits AU$50m Optus debt | ZDNet". ZDNet. zdnet. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- Foye, Brendon (19 July 2016). "Amaysim enters broadband market with $4m acquisition". CRN Australia. Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
- Palmer, Andrew (10 April 2017). "Mobile operator Amaysim buys Click Energy". The Australian. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
- Fernyhough, James (18 November 2018). "Amaysim blames 'punitive' NBN costs for exit from broadband". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 1 December 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
- Foye, Brendon (26 October 2018). "Amaysim exits broadband market after 18 months". CRN Australia. Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
- Choros, Alex (2 December 2019). "amaysim acquires Jeenee Mobile, ends "Make a Difference" phone plan donation program". www.whistleout.com.au. Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
- Samios, Zoe (3 June 2020). "Amaysim bulks up customer base with Ovo Mobile buy". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
- Fernyhough, James; Macdonald-Smith, Angela (31 August 2020). "Amaysim offloads energy business to AGL". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
- "AGL to acquire Amaysim's Click Energy Group in Australia". Power Technology. 1 September 2020. Archived from the original on 3 September 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
- "Optus buys out small budget competitor Amaysim". Dollar Moat. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- Latimer, Jennifer Duke, Cole (27 March 2019). "Amaysim fined $900,000 for advertising misleading energy discounts". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
- Commission, Australian Competition and Consumer (27 March 2019). "Click Energy to pay $900,000 for misleading claims". Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
- Commission, Australian Competition and Consumer (14 October 2020). "Amaysim and Lycamobile pay penalties over ads for 'unlimited' mobile plans". Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Retrieved 1 November 2020.