Millicom and NJJ snap up Telefonica Chile

Details: James Barton; Category: Operators; 11 February 2026; 8566 views

Millicom has partnered with French investment firm NJJ Holdings to acquire Telefonica’s Chilean operations – straight after acquiring Telefonica’s Colombian unit Coltel.

NJJ and Millicom are both controlled by billionaire Xavier Niel, and will acquire 100% of Telefonica’s holding via an SPV. Respectively, the firms will take a 51% and 49% stake in the operator. While Millicom will initially hold the minority stake, it will operate the business from day one.

Millicom will have a call option to purchase NJJ’s share based on market valuation less a 10% discount after the fifth and sixth years, payable with Millicom shares. If Millicom opts not to exercise this, NJJ could obtain Millicom’s 49% stake via a similar mechanism.

Telefonica will receive an initial closing payment of $50 million and will be entitled to earn as much as $150 million via earn-out payments based on value creation. However, these obligations - as well as the unit’s debt, which Telefonica reported as €479 million (US$568m) in 2025 - will be paid via its own cash flows rather than being guaranteed by Millicom.

According to Millicom, this model will allow it to “reposition a challenged asset in one of the region’s largest and most strategic markets at an attractive valuation, while preserving the strength and flexibility of [its] balance sheet.”

Millicom has an extensive presence in the Latin America region, and has been a notable beneficiary of Telefonica’s decision to exit most of its markets in the region, acquiring the Spanish firm’s Ecuadorian and Uruguayan units last year as well as the aforementioned majority holding in Coltel. Bloomberg named Entel and America Movil as other interested parties in the bid for Telefonica Chile.