Advantage Partners in Guam-based telco play

Advantage Partners has paid an undisclosed sum to acquire telecommunications provider TeleGuam Holdings from Los Angeles’ Shamrock Capital Advisors, according to a TeleGuam company statement.

TeleGuam provides internet, digital television, wireless and landline services in the US Pacific island territory of Guam, where the relocation of over 8,000 US Marines from Okinawa over recent years has led to improvements in the island’s communications sector.

“We believe the company is well-positioned for continued growth given its state-of-the-art infrastructure, penetration of quadruple-play offerings and macro growth from the military build-up,” Richard Folsom, a partner at Advantage Partners said in the statement.

Advantage Partners declined to elaborate beyond the release on the details of the transaction, but a spokesperson for the firm said TeleGuam had recorded revenues of around $70 million over the last fiscal year.

The Tokyo-based and North Asia-focused buyout firm has till now invested predominately in Japanese assets, but in July this year, it acquired 14 percent of Hong Kong-listed media services company Qin Jia Yuan Media Services for an undisclosed sum.

Advantage Partners is currently investing from its fourth buyout fund, which closed on ¥215 billion in 2007. The firm’s spokesperson declined to comment on the fund’s pipeline at this time, saying only that it was on the constant lookout for deals.

In October, Advantage Partners reportedly hired Nomura Holdings to seek out an additional investor for its portfolio company Tokyo Star Bank. The extra capital could potentially be used to pay down debt from the original buyout, which took place on March 2008, according to a Reuters report which cited “four people with direct knowledge of the matter”.

Burbank-headquartered Shamrock Capital first invested in TeleGuam in 2005. The firm typically makes growth and buyout transactions of between $10 million and $50 million in size in the US entertainment, media and communications sectors. The firm could not be reached by press time.