The offer, from Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets and Aware Super, values Vocus shares at $5.50 each. The bid was disclosed on 8 February after it was revealed that an offer from MIRA was on Vocus' table.

Vocus chairman Bob Mansfield said in a statement to the ASX on Tuesday: "The Vocus board is unanimous in out view that this offer is in the best interests of Vocus shareholders.

"In making this assessment, the board considered a range of alternatives, including the execution of our existing strategy under which the proceeds of an IPO of Vocus New Zealand would reduce debt and be invested in our core business.

"Feedback from shareholders in recent weeks on the indicative offer of $5.50 originally received from MIRA has been overwhelmingly positive and there is a broad recognition that this is a very fair value for Vocus shareholders."

Vocus managing director and chief executive Kevin Russell said: "In recent weeks, we have been able to confidently declare that Vocus' turnaround is complete and that we are moving into a new phase of investment.

"This transaction clearly validates the company's strong operational and financial performance, and recognises that we are executing the strategy that we set out in 2018.

"A key part of the success of our turnaround strategy was the early establishment of Vocus' three business units - Vocus Network Services, Vocus New Zealand and Retail.

"The proposal fro Aware Super and MIRA recognises that all three business units have been performing well, with Vocus Network Services winning market share, New Zealand well positioned for market consolidation opportunities and Retail returning to growth in its consumer business.

"Fibre is the critical infrastructure of the modern economy, and this arrangement endorses our view that Vocus' secure Australian-operated fibre network is key to our momentum in market."

MIRA head of Asia-Pacific, Frank Kwok, said: “We have worked closely with Vocus to develop a compelling proposition for its shareholders and we are pleased to have signed a Scheme Implementation Deed to put our proposal to the company’s shareholders. We believe the proposal represents compelling and certain value delivering an all-cash consideration at an attractive premium.”

MIRA manages investments in data centres, fibre assets and telecommunication tower businesses across Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific.

Aware Super head of Income and Real Assets, Damien Webb, said: “As an experienced infrastructure investor, Aware Super’s participation alongside MIRA supports the growing interest of our fund in digital infrastructure as an asset class.

"We believe the sector has significant growth potential and is aligned to our purpose of delivering strong, sustainable long-term returns to our members while supporting the community in which they live, work and retire.”

Vocus has been the target of a number of takeover proposals over the last few years.

In May 2019, AGL Energy made a non-binding, indicative proposal to acquire the firm.

But it pulled out later the same month when the terms of due diligence could not be agreed. However, an offer was made on 11 June for all the shares in the company, at $4.85 a share, meaning that the total bid would come to a shade over $3 billion. The AGL bid was formally dropped on 17 June.

In June 2019, Swedish equity firm EQT Infrastructure pulled out of a bid for Vocus that valued the company at $3.3 billion or $5.25 a share.

In June 2017, a report said TPG Capital could team up with Vocus founder James Spenceley to examine a takeover in the event that the equity firm's bid for newspaper firm Fairfax Media, now no longer in existence after being bought by Nine Entertainment, did not come off.

The same month, American equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts made a bid to buy Vocus for $2.2 billion.