Telefónica has agreed a deal to sell its Mexican unit to Melisa Acquisition LLC for $450 million.
The deal was confirmed by the Spanish telco in a stock market statement this week, with the carrier noting the transaction is in line with its plans to slim down its Latin American footprint.
Telefónica has been looking to sell its Mexican unit for some time, with previous reports suggesting the telco was in talks with Beyond ONE, the owner of Virgin Mobile Mexico, over a sale last year.
Melisa Acquisition is a consortium of investors led by Oxio and Newfoundland Capital Management.
The carrier, which operates under the Movistar brand, is the second-biggest telco in Mexico, with more than 25 million customers.
During its time in Mexico, Telefónica has struggled to gain market share from Carlos Slim’s dominant carrier in the country, America Movil SAB. Indeed, the telco isn’t the only carrier to push for an exit, with AT&T Mexico also heavily focused on finalizing an exit.
Telefónica’s planned Mexican sale is subject to regulatory approval. For now, the market is one of the few Latin American markets that the carrier still operates in, along with Brazil and Venezuela.
In the past couple of years, the carrier has completed its exit from Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay.
Brazil will remain one of the company’s four core markets, along with Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom, as part of its strategy to consolidate its business.
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