Long-distance call provider MagicTel has unveiled plans to acquire Internet content and portals through capital obtained from a back-door listing.
Struggling video-cassette maker Goldtron is in talks to acquire Magictel, which is 47.5 per cent owned by a group of private investors led by Richard Siemens, chairman of Distacom Communications.
MagicTel intends to 'develop an Internet company that will be second to none in Asia', Mr Siemens said.
'We will want to buy one new Internet company every three months.' Its business will initially focus on providing managed Internet bandwidth through the global network of its partner company Interline, which is owned by US telecoms giant MCI WorldCom.
A managed network means that quality could be guaranteed and thus leased at a premium to high-end customers such as electronic-commerce vendors.
'We'll eventually acquire content over time and gradually provide portals to our [network],' Mr Siemens said.
'We'll definitely be in the portal business. We have our eye on two to three companies now,' he said.