Telefonica is reportedly considering listing its Latin American businesses as a single holding company in New York next year.
The Spanish incumbent would list a minority stake in the newly-created holding company, which would be based in Spain for…
Telefonica is reportedly considering listing its Latin American businesses as a single holding company in New York next year.
The Spanish incumbent would list a minority stake in the newly-created holding company, which would be based in Spain for financial and tax reasons, according to Spanish newspaper Expansion cited by Reuters. Expansion did not reveal its sources. According to the report, the IPO will not be held before the second half of 2013.
Commenting on the matter, a Telefonica spokesperson said the Latin American IPO process is ongoing but no firm decision has been made.
On a conference call on the company’s Q3 results earlier this month, Telefonica CEO Cesar Alierta said the company is continuing to assess its options regarding the potential IPOs of its Latin American businesses next year, noting that the board has not yet made a decision. He added that the company has received expressions of interest for its assets, but did not elaborate.
Meanwhile, in early November Telefonica Latin American head Santiago Fernandez Valbuena had been quoted as saying the LatAm business could be spun-off next year and that the company does not plan to float the units separately.
Telefonica has businesses in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela, and others in smaller Central American countries.
Telefonica reported net debt of €56bn at the end of Q3, down from €58bn at the end of Q2. The company said the figure would drop to €52.8bn if agreed disposals and restructuring close as planned. Telefonica is aiming to reduce net debt to €50bn by the end of the year.
Telefonica Deutschland floated 23.17% of its share capital on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in late October, raising €1.449bn (US$1.877bn).
