The owners of BlueSky Communications, Amper SA, of Spain has reportedly received a first payment from buyers, Amalgamated Telecom Holdings of Fiji.
This has been confirmed by the country manager of BlueSky Samoa to the Samoa Observer newspaper.
The observer quotes Alex Abraham, BlueSky Samoa Country Manager saying it’s his understanding that a deposit has been made by ATH to Amper SA.
Abraham said however that the sale is going through the regulatory process.
BlueSky Country Manager, American Samoa Filifotu Tinitali has not responded to KHJ News questions.
Mr. Abraham told the Samoa Observer, Bluesky Samoa remains positive that the sale is a step in the right direction.
He hopes “there will be a lot of synergies between the two businesses with the joining of the two companies therefore bringing benefits back to Samoa.”
The Country Manager said there’s opportunity for A.T.H, which runs Vodafone in Fiji, and Bluesky to share skills and knowledge.
He said, “If you keep yourself restricted you don’t see it.
“But if you keep your eyes open, there are a lot of things that we can do together.”
Amper and ATH had announced in June that they were in negotiations for the sale of the BlueSky Pacific Group.
It was later announced that the Amper board had accepted a buyout offer from ATH of $79 million.
Since then there’s been no other public announcement except that the sale was going through the regulatory review process.
Governor Lolo Moliga said at a cabinet meeting right after the elections that due diligence on the BlueSky sale is being carried out and when things become clearer , he would advise the cabinet.
The Bluesky Pacific Group includes BlueSky operations in American Samoa, Samoa, and the Cook Islands.
Of particular interest to ASG is its 30 percent shareholding in the American Samoa Hawaii cable which manages the undersea fiber optic cable that links Am Samoa and Samoa, to Hawaii.
