Telstra Sells 70% Of Sensis For $454 Million

In more local internet related news – Telstra has agreed to sell a major stake, around 70% of their Sensis business to a private equity firm in the US.

Telstra will retain ownership of the remaining 30%.

The total price will be around $454 million AUD, which is low considering some market analysts were expecting value at around the $3 Billion mark.

Telstra has said they will continue to product the White Pages directory as requied under Telstra’s carrier licence.

Federal Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull says the Government is reconsidering if this requirement should still be in place. We could see the Government scrap this regulation and then Sensis/ Telstra will no longer have to print off White Page Directories and focus solely on their online directories.

Some market analysts have speculated that back in 2005 the Sensis business was worth around $10 Billion.