Carlos Slim is reportedly looking to sell a minority holding in tower firm Telesites, which was formerly a unit of Slim’s America Movil before being spun off due to regulatory pressure.
Telesites is 61% owned by Slim and his family, and the billionaire is currently holding discussions with sovereign wealth/infrastructure funds and private equity firms in an attempt to divest some of his shares without relinquishing overall control of the unit.
America Movil made a healthy profit of MXN35.9 billion in the first quarter of 2017, a significant rise on the same period last year, when it was making payments to Telesites out of the MXN4.8 billion profit that it generated. Since being spun off, Telesites has failed to attract any clients interested in leasing its towers other than America Movil itself and its mobile unit Telcel.
Analyst Gregorio Tomassi said: “We see little progress in third-party usage of Telesites’ towers.” The firm was believed to be discussing potential agreements with AT&T and Telefonica back in 2015, but demand has failed to materialise, as observed recently in a research note by investment bank Itau BBA.
Neither Telesites nor Slim have commented on the reports.
