Telefonica completes Latin American acquisitions

The last stage in the process will be Telefonica's investment in Colombia of US$670 million in broadband, fixed-line and related services. Target by 2009 will be control of Colombia Telecomunicaciones SA, where the necessary stake will soon be purchased.

 

Of great interest to observers of Latin American telecoms has been Telefonica's relationship with Mexico' s billionaire telecoms investor Carlos Slim. It is almost certain that Carlos Slim will himself be investing in Telefonica despite Telefonica and Slim having been in competition for control of Latin America's telephone businesses. The former's operations range the full length of the region, personified by the wide-ranging acquisition of BellSouth's mobile operations, which were based over ten countries. Price at the time (early 2005) was almost US$6 billion.

 

As Telefonica aims to become a global player, it has sought out acquisitions world wide. This is exemplified by its intention to increase its stake in the second-largest fixed-line operator in China, China Netcom Group Corporation ( Hong Kong ) Ltd.

Sign-up to our weekly newsletter

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE twice-weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.
I agree with the Terms and conditions and the Privacy policy
By accepting occasional e-mails from our partners, inviting you to download articles, white papers and attend events, you are helping fund free access to this valuable news service for emerging markets.