Must be hard for Malone to take knowing that Teoh has outplayed him over all these years and now gets to mop up his baby at a fraction of TPG's market cap. In his mind, he probably sees iiNet being at least equal to TPG, if not superior. Only natural to love something you created so much.
iiNet focused on customer subscription numbers and accumulating as many as they could, as quickly as they could.
Teoh was a little more patient and disciplined, acquiring infrastructure and competitive advantages.
My feeling is that Malone was relying on the ACCC to supply 7 POIs for the NBN. Level playing field + brand awareness & customer loyalty + top notch customer service = a winner in post-NBN world. Unfortunately, 121 POIs were announced and the level playing field part didn't pan out.
Just my opinion on how it looks to an outsider.
Why did he sell so many shares to "diversify"? He sold at far less than what Teoh is offering. Plus, it's debatable whether iiNet would have the margins I survive in 5 years' time.
IIN Price at posting:
$8.85 Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
