Millicom mentioned that the acquisition of Movistar in Ecuador strengthens its place in South America and deepens its geographic diversification
In sum – what to know:
Telefónica exits Ecuador – Telefonica has agreed to promote its Ecuador unit to Millicom for $380 million, persevering with its technique to cut back Latin American publicity.
Millicom expands in South America – The acquisition strengthens Millicom’s footprint throughout the area, including a secure, dollarized economic system with sturdy telecom progress and regulatory help to its portfolio.
Path to digital progress – With 5 million prospects and a 28% market share, Telefonica Ecuador provides Millicom a strong platform to drive innovation, connectivity and long-term worth within the area.
Spanish service Telefonica and Millicom Worldwide Mobile have reached a definitive settlement beneath which the latter will purchase 100% of Telefónica’s operations in Ecuador, in a transaction valued at $380 million. In Ecuador, Telefonica operates beneath the Movistar model.
For Telefónica, the transaction is aligned with its ongoing technique to streamline its portfolio and scale back publicity in Latin America, focusing assets on core markets to drive sustainable worth. Movistar Ecuador is at present the second-largest cellular operator within the South America nation, serving roughly 5 million prospects with a 28% market share as of March 2025.
In the meantime, Millicom mentioned that the acquisition of Movistar in Ecuador strengthens its place in South America and deepens its geographic diversification. With the addition of Ecuador — a secure, dollarized economic system with a optimistic macroeconomic outlook — Millicom bolsters its regional scale, working money circulation resilience and long-term progress prospects, the telco mentioned.
Marcelo Benitez, CEO of Millicom, mentioned: “Ecuador presents a dynamic and rising digital market. This acquisition is a powerful match for our technique of sustainable, innovation-driven enlargement in Latin America.”
Final month, Telefonica reached an settlement to promote all the shares in its Uruguayan subsidiary to the Millicom Group for a complete of $440 million.
The transaction continues to be topic to sure closing circumstances, together with the approval of the corresponding regulatory authorizations.
Telefónica, which additionally operates beneath the Movistar model in Uruguay, is the nation’s second-largest cellular operator, with almost 29% of the cellular market by March 2025.
In Latin America, Millicom at present operates in Bolivia and Paraguay beneath the Tigo model.
In March, Telefónica had additionally finalized an settlement to promote 67.5% of its Colombian unit Coltel— which it operates beneath the Movistar model — to Millicom for about roughly $416 million.
Along with buying Telefónica’s stake, Millicom had introduced a proposal to buy the remaining 32.5% of Coltel, at present owned by the Colombian authorities and different buyers. If profitable, Millicom would acquire full management of the corporate.
In February, Telefonica introduced the sale of its Argentine subsidiary to rival Telecom Argentina for $1.245 billion as one other step within the firm’s efforts to cut back its footprint in Latin America.
The Argentine authorities initially introduced that it’s going to examine the acquisition to find out whether or not it creates a monopoly. The Workplace of the President launched an announcement warning that “70% of telecommunications companies could be managed by a single financial group, making a monopoly shaped because of a long time of state advantages.”
In March, the Argentine authorities introduced a safety measure looking for to droop Telecom’s acquisition of Telefónica. The federal government mentioned that the suspension relies on the advice of the Nationwide Fee for the Protection of Competitors, which indicated that “the merger of each corporations would considerably enhance their market share.”
Telefónica’s chairman, Marc Murtra, believes that the corporate’s exit from Latin America, improves its place to undertake consolidation operations within the telecommunications sector in Europe, the place three of its 4 principal markets are concentrated: Spain, Germany and the U.Okay.
