Industry Telecommunications Headquarters Sydney | Website www.commander.com.au Founded 1998 | |
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Services Landline
Broadband
VoIP
Mobile
Mobile Broadband | ||
Commander Australia is an Australian telecommunications company owned by M2 Group since 2009.
Contents
History
Commander was formed as a joint venture between Plessey and Telstra Corporation, selling PABX telephone systems under the name of Plestel Pty Ltd. The company held exclusive Australian rights to distribute products developed by 3Com, Nortel Networks and Siemens, many of which were rebadged and sold as Commander Systems.
The company was renamed to Commander Australia Limited in October 2000, and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange under the code ASX:CDR as part of a broader bid to convert the business into telecommunications provider.
Financial Difficulties
During 2006, Commander embarked on an ambitious franchising scheme, setting up a pilot “Commander Center” franchise in Tasmania. Over 30 “Commander Centre” franchises were sold Australia-wide until toward the end of 2007, when the franchise model started showing some viability issues.
On 1 October 2007 the company was put into suspension from official quotation by the ASX due the failure of the company to lodge reports to the ASX by a regulatory-imposed deadline, freezing the value of the company at 53c per share. On 18 October 2007 the company was reinstated to official quotation, however within hours the share price halved.
On 30 January 2008 commander made 600 staff redundant. This increased its share price by 10%. However this share price was short lived, with the price back down to 19c within hours.
On Friday, 8 August 2008, the company announced to its investors and 1300 staff that it was placed under administrative receivership, owing $360 million to Westpac, Commonwealth and ANZ. At the time that the company went into administration, the share price was sitting at 8.2c.
Sale
In June 2009, M2 Group executed an Asset Sale Deed to acquire the Small & Medium Business assets and associated intellectual property of Commander for $19 million.
The Commander Centre Franchise chain was converted into a Dealer channel, with each individual Franchisee being required to sign a Deed of Release without compensation from Commander or its Administrators. Following the sale of assets to M2, Commander Australia Limited was wound up in 2010.
The Commander name now exists as a subsidiary of M2, who continue to support the Commander Centre franchise network and offer telecommunications services under the Commander brand.