MEDIA RELEASE - Vodafone has today announced the acquisition of WorldxChange, a New Zealand based telecommunications business

Vodafone’s Chief Executive Officer, Russell Stanners, said, “This is a really exciting move for us. WorldxChange is a world-class kiwi company specialising in converged unified communications services and its deep experience and 15-year proven history of delivering high-quality innovative solutions is a great complement to our existing business.

“Our focus is on delivering the best possible solutions to our customers and this deal allows us to enhance our total communications offering. We’re proud to be investing in this strong, kiwi company and to bring the benefits of its highly skilled technical capability to our customers.”

WorldxChange currently delivers communications services to a large customer base including Government, Corporate and business customers; as well as providing fixed and fibre solutions to high-end residential customers. Its model includes capability for provision automation and self-service, offering flexibility and increased transparency for customers.

WorldxChange Chief Technology Officer and major shareholder, Paul Clarkin, said the company felt proud to be joining the Vodafone NZ group.

“This is a strong, positive move for us. Vodafone has seen the value in our expertise and what we offer to customers, and the decision will see WorldxChange become a Unified Communications Centre of Excellence for Vodafone, showcasing our design and development know-how.

“We’re combining our existing product set, technical capability and pre-sales expertise with Vodafone’s sales and marketing competence and highly-skilled Technology Team, to deliver leading products and services to Enterprise customers,” he said.

News of the acquisition has been welcomed by the industry. Broadsoft CEO, Mike Tessler congratulated Vodafone on the deal today: "We congratulate Vodafone on today's acquisition of WorldxChange - a longstanding BroadSoft channel partner that has built up significant expertise in next generation telephony and unified communications.

“By bringing WorldxChange's exceptional team into the fold, Vodafone is now strongly positioned to offer our superior UC-One platform and further differentiate its offering from competitors."

WorldxChange will become a wholly-owned Vodafone subsidiary, governed by a combined Board of representatives from both WorldxChange and Vodafone NZ.