2degrees забирает бизнес-клиентов Now New Zealand перед закрытием оператора

2degrees will be taking on business customers from Mercury Energy’s regional telco subsidiary Now New Zealand, as it prepares to shut up shop. Mercury announced in July it would close Now New Zealand later this year – less than four years after taking complete ownership of the business in 2022. It said the decision followed a strategic review of where Now fits within the group and a decision to focus Mercury’s energy business on its core operations. The company, which this year posted a record net profit, told Reseller News today up to 70 Now staff across Hawke’s Bay, Christchurch, Tauranga and Hamilton were potentially affected by the closure. In a statement, 2degrees said it was selected to support the transition of Now’s business customers, ahead of the planned closure the company’s operations on 30 November 2026. Now served a significant number of customers across regional New Zealand, particularly in Hawke’s Bay, the Bay of Plenty and Waikato who will transition to 2degrees over the coming months, the company said. Now’s business customers ranged from small and medium-sized businesses to larger enterprises, using a range of services including broadband, voice, mobile and cloud solutions. Mercury acquired a 48 per cent stake in Now in March 2021 and then the remaining shares in December 2022. 2degrees was pleased to have been chosen to support Now’s business customers and look forward to welcoming them, said CEO Mark Callander. “We know how important reliable connectivity is to businesses. Our priority is to ensure the transition is as seamless as possible, with clear communication and dedicated support throughout the process,” he added. “We have extensive experience managing customer migrations of this scale and complexity, so we know what’s required to get it right – careful planning, strong execution and making sure our people and systems are ready to support customers every step of the way.” The agreement would further strengthen 2degrees’ presence in key regional markets and support its continued growth in the business sector, Callander said. “Now has built a strong customer base that includes many successful Kiwi businesses, many of them in regional communities where we already have a strong presence,” he said. “We’re looking forward to building relationships with these businesses and demonstrating the value that 2degrees can offer through reliable connectivity, exceptional service and a team that understands what it takes to keep their business moving.” A Mercury spokesperson told Reseller News the company decided to consolidate and close the Now telco and broadband business in July, following a strategic review and careful consideration. “An orderly wind-down is underway and is expected to take up to nine months,” they said. “Alongside the business customer news out today, the plan is to migrate Now’s 15,000 residential customers to Mercury for broadband and telco services. “We look forward to working with the 2degrees team on the transition of business customers.” 2degrees said preparations for the migration are already underway saying customers who move to 2degrees would retain their current business plan pricing. The company will contact customers directly with information about their migration process, including timing and any applicable changes to terms and conditions. Customers who do not wish to transition to 2degrees can opt out and make alternative arrangements before Now’s customer operations cease on 30 November. In a statement issued on its website in July, Now said the decision to close down the business was not easy. “Now has built a genuine business with customers and partners who have trusted us, and a team that has worked hard to deliver something worth being proud of. We do not take lightly what this means for the people involved,” the company stated. At the time, Now NZ CEO Hamish White said: “Our priority is looking after our people and our customers”. The closure of Now comes as Mercury revealed last month that it had reached 50,000 connections for its mobile services bundled with its broadband and energy offerings. Meanwhile, Mercury posted a record net profit after tax of $321 million and operating earnings (EBITDAF) of $1.07 billion for the 12 months ending 30 June 2026.