People Telecom in Amcom deal?

Local second-tier telcos Amcom and People Telecom both suspended trading of their securities late Friday, pending significant announcements.

The pair flagged plans to re-commence normal trading on the Australian Stock Exchange this Wednesday, or whenever the announcements were made.

The fact that both telcos are following the exact same timing for their announcements lends credence to the idea that they will in some way consolidate their assets. However, neither Amcom chief executive Eddy Lee or his People Telecom counterpart John Stanton were available this morning to comment on such a deal.

In early February Amcom confirmed it had discussed its future with other industry players regarding "the consolidation of the industry". At that time speculation had centred on Kiwi giant Telecom New Zealand buying out the Perth-based telco.

However, Amcom later said it had not discussed an acquisition scenario with Telecom.

In late February, Amcom's Lee announced his intention to leave the telco in August to pursue other business interests. The telco has not yet announced his successor. In turn, People Telecom's Stanton only took up the reins at the telco in August last year.