America Movil mulls merger of Brazilian subsidiaries
America Movil (AMX), controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, is considering combining together its Brazilian telco and satellite television unit Embratel with local cableco NET and mobile operator Claro.
In a joint statement, the companies said…
America Movil (AMX), controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, is considering combining together its Brazilian telco and satellite television unit Embratel with local cableco NET and mobile operator Claro.
In a joint statement, the companies said that they “are evaluating the possibility of a corporate reorganisation intended to consolidate the corporate structure and activities of the companies and some of their subsidiaries in Brazil into a single company.”
The next step, they said, is to conduct internal analyses and consult with the Brazilian telecoms regulator Anatel to assess the feasibility of the transaction, and the conditions to which it may be subjected.
Analysts were quoted saying that the transaction could help AMX cut costs while creating a telecoms giant in Brazil.
A merger of the three subsidiaries had been in the pipeline since Embratel took control of NET at the beginning of last year. In addition, since 2011, a change in legislation has allowed Brazilian telcos to offer pay-TV services.
In 2008, Embratel was given the green light to offer DTH services under the Via Embratel brand.
The move was part of Embratel’s plan to offer triple play services across the country and compete with Spanish telco Telefonica, which offers pay-TV services via Vivo TV, and Sky Brazil.
The pay-TV unit has since been renamed Claro TV and is operated by Claro and Embratel. It provides services using the Star One C2 satellite. Satellite operator Star One is a subsidiary of Embratel.
The other DTH operators in the country are Oi TV and GVT TV.
