For Telefonica, the transaction is aligned with its ongoing technique to streamline its portfolio and scale back publicity in Latin America
In sum – what to know:
Telefonica exits Ecuador – The Spanish operator accomplished the sale of its Ecuadorian enterprise to Millicom, aligning with its technique to streamline operations and give attention to core European markets.
Millicom expands South American footprint – The acquisition strengthens Millicom’s regional presence, following its earlier buy of Telefónica Uruguay, and enhances its operational scale throughout Latin America.
Macroeconomic stability – With a dollarized financial system and strong development outlook, the Ecuador market offers Millicom with stronger money circulation resilience and long-term development potential.
Spanish telco Telefonica confirmed the completion of the sale of its telecommunications operations in Ecuador to Millicom Worldwide Mobile, the previous mentioned in a launch.
Information of a deal between the 2 firms was first introduced in June. In Ecuador, Telefonica operates below the Movistar model.
For Telefonica, 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. Telefonica’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 foremost markets are concentrated: Spain, Germany and the U.Ok.
Movistar Ecuador is at the moment the second-largest cellular operator within the South America nation, serving roughly 5 million clients with a 28% market share as of March 2025.
In a separate launch, Millicom mentioned the transaction represents one other main step in its technique to deepen its presence in South America, following the corporate’s current acquisition of Telefónica Uruguay.
With the addition of Ecuador — a steady, dollarized financial system with a optimistic macroeconomic outlook — Millicom bolsters its regional scale, working money circulation resilience and long-term development prospects, the telco mentioned.
Marcelo Benitez, CEO of Millicom, mentioned “This acquisition underscores our long-term confidence in Latin America. By getting into Ecuador, we strengthen our platform to increase digital entry, empower communities, and drive financial and social progress.”
In March, Telefónica had additionally finalized an settlement to promote 67.5% of its Colombian unit Coltel— which it operates below the Movistar model — to Millicom for roughly roughly $416 million.
Along with buying Telefonica’s stake, Millicom had introduced a proposal to buy the remaining 32.5% of Coltel, at the moment owned by the Colombian authorities and different traders. 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 scale 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 due to many years of state advantages.”
In March, the Argentine authorities introduced a safety measure searching for to droop Telecom’s acquisition of Telefónica. The federal government mentioned that the suspension is predicated on the advice of the Nationwide Fee for the Protection of Competitors, which indicated that “the merger of each firms would considerably enhance their market share.”
Telefonica had additionally offered its Peruvian unit for lower than $1 million to Integra TecInternational Inc (Integra Tec).
