The government of Panama is to sell half of its stake in Cable & Wireless Panama, finance minister Frank De Lima has said according to Bloomberg.
De Lima said that the government plans to sell roughly half of its 49% stake in the telco on the local…
The government of Panama is to sell half of its stake in Cable & Wireless Panama, finance minister Frank De Lima has said according to Bloomberg.
De Lima said that the government plans to sell roughly half of its 49% stake in the telco on the local stock exchange that should generate US$750m, while the rest will be placed in a sovereign wealth fund. The sale is subject to approval from lawmakers with a decision expected this week.
The rest of C&W Panama is owned 2% by employees and 49% by UK-based operator Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), which has the option to block the sale.
However, De Lima told Bloomberg that CWC were on board with the sale.
CWC said in a statement that it respects the government’s right to sell down its shareholding and said that it had the first option to acquire 5% of the shares being sold.
“We have to wait until the appropriate legislation is passed, and approved by the government, before progressing the matter further,” said a CWC spokesperson.
In an interim statement released in February the operator said it was making “slower progress” in the country than it expected and revised down its forecast for full year earnings, from US$270m – US$295m down to US$254m.
