LatAm-focused NII Holdings has mandated UBS to advise the operator on strategic alternatives and Rothschild to improve its capital structure as it looks to arrest its slump.
UBS will look at selling or merging some of NII’s four units – based in…
LatAm-focused NII Holdings has mandated UBS to advise the operator on strategic alternatives and Rothschild to improve its capital structure as it looks to arrest its slump.
UBS will look at selling or merging some of NII’s four units – based in Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Argentina – or perhaps even find a buyer for the whole group. It will also examine potential partnerships and alliances, NII said in a statement.
Rothschild will advise the debt-ridden telco on improving its liquidity position, which could take the form of a refinancing or a restructuring of its net debt pile, which stood at US$3.4bn according to its year-end results published at the end of February.
NII’s share price plunged 55% on the back of the results, from US$2.58 to US$1.15. In April 2013 the stock was trading as high as US$9.43, but today it is valued at US$1.11 – a fall of more than 88%. US-based NII now has a market capitalisation of only US$191m.
In the conference call which accompanied the recent Q4 results, CEO Steve Shindler did not rule out selling its core businesses in Brazil and Mexico.
In the call NII’s CFO Juan Figuereo said: “We believe that we will have sufficient funding for 2014 but we will need to significantly improve our operating performance and consider other actions to enhance our liquidity position so that we can meet our financial obligations and fund our business in 2015 and beyond.”
Last year NII sold its Peruvian unit for US$410m to Entel Chile, as part of a strategy to offload units it no longer considered core. Its businesses in Argentina and Chile remain in the shop window. It also sold towers in Brazil and Mexico to American Tower for US$811m.
