A flurry of potential acquisitions in Brazil has resulted in two competing operators, Oi and TIM Brasil, each considering bids to buy the other.
First, there is the ongoing battle for Vivendi’s Brazilian unit, GVT. Telefónica raised its offer for GVT to U.S.$9.83 billion in cash and shares which tops a €7 billion (U.S.$9.01 billion) proposal from Telecom Italia, and Vivendi entered exclusive talks with Telefónica.
In the meantime, Oi announced that it hired BTG Pactual as its agent to review alternatives to enable a viable proposal for the acquisition of Telecom Italia’s Brazilian business, TIM.
Oi lacks cash to acquire TIM Brasil by itself, so it needs a partner. One of the telecom companies that showed interest in joining Oi’s effort was the Mexican giant group América Móvil.
Now, the game has taken another turn, following a report that TIM Brasil is interested in acquiring Oi — and TIM is in a better financial position than its rival.
Either potential acquisition would challenge Telefónica’s Brazilian unit, Vivo. As of July, Vivo had approximately 79.4 million mobile lines, and TIM had 74.4 million lines. Oi is in third place with 51.1 million.
Televisa exiting Iusacell: The Mexican Grupo Televisa is selling its 50% share in Iusacell to Grupo Salinas for U.S.$717 million. As a result of this transaction, Televisa will recognize a loss of approximately U.S.$320 million. Earlier this year, Telefónica was reportedly in talks about potentially combining its Mexican operations with Iusacell in an effort to create a stronger mobile-phone competitor to face América Móvil’s Telcel, which controls about 70% of the market.
LatAm out of NII Holdings bankruptcy: Brazil, Mexico and Argentina will not be a part of NII Holdings’ chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, which some of the company’s U.S. and Luxembourg-based subsidiaries began under the U.S. bankruptcy code. According to NII Holdings, this is the first step to restructuring its debt obligations and improving its liquidity. NII Holdings released a statement stating that “The company has been in discussions with its major stakeholders over the past several months and is optimistic that those discussions will lead to a debt restructuring plan that will be reflected in a plan of reorganization that will be submitted in the proceedings in the near future.”
More news from the Latin American region:
- Movistar Venezuela expects to invest U.S.$1.426 billion this year. The amount was released at a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the carrier’s Venezuelan operations. Currently, Movistar has 9.6 million mobile users in the Venezuela.
- Peru’s telecom regulator Osiptel is proposing a 50% reduction in the time that phone, cable and Internet customers must wait for their claims and appeals to be resolved. If the measure is approved, the wait time would be reduced from 124 days to 61 days.
- Digicel has completed the purchase of Jamaican cable TV, broadband and fixed telephony service provider Telstar Cabel Limited. With the deal completed, Digicel will move forward with network investment plans to increase coverage and expand its products, services and content in Jamaica.
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