The tower business spin-off planned by telecommunications giant America Movil has got the green light from the company’s shareholders, who have overwhelmingly approved the plan.
In an extraordinary general meeting, they gave what is described as a strong endorsement for the spin-off proposal, which will create a new company called Sitios Latinoamerica. America Movil has already said that it expects to complete the reorganization before the end of 2021.
Upon completion, the new entity will own 36,000 telecommunications towers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay.
According to Reuters, America Movil will hand over to the new company a portion of its share capital consisting mainly of shares it owns in subsidiary companies that own towers and other associated infrastructure.
Specialist website Tower Xchange says Sitios Latinoamerica is set to become the world’s 10th largest towerco and the second largest in the region. It adds that over a third of Sitios Latinoamerica’s towers are in Brazil, some 12 percent are in Argentina and 10 percent in Peru.
America Movil and Sitios Latinoamerica will operate autonomously with separate management, operational, commercial and financial objectives.
Among growth opportunities, Tower Xchange suggests that ongoing 4G rollout and, in the longer term, the arrival of 5G will benefit the new company.
America Movil and Sitios Latinoamerica will enter into medium and long-term lease agreements, a model that is becoming common as tower businesses around the world are spun off or sold to free up operator capital.
