Singapore ISP (Pacific Internet has announced its entrance into the Australian ISP market with the purchase of Melbourne-based Mira Networking. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Pacific Internet owns ISPs in the Philippines and Hong Kong, and earlier this year listed on the US. Nasdaq stock exchange to raise funds for further regional expansion. The acquisition of Mira, which operates in Australia's five largest cities -- Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide -- is the first of a number of steps that Pacific Internet will take in building a nationwide Internet presence in Australia, the company said in a statement.
Pacific Internet Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Lee said that Mira, founded in 1994, would be integrated into a family of similar looking sites set up by Pacific Internet and its other Asian partners. Mira currently offers dial-up access services for the consumer market and dedicated access services for businesses.
Pacific Internet, which is the only ISP in Southeast Asia to have expanded beyond its home country, is also interested in entering the Indian market, the company has said. The firm is also one of the few profitable ISPs in the region, posting profits of S$12.2 million (US$7.1 million) for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 1998.
Pacific Internet can be contacted at +65-771-0733 or on the World Wide Web at http://www.pacific.net.sg/.