Incumbent America Movil (NYSE: AMX) will have to delay the spin-off of its tower unit, Telesites, until September, local media report.
Speaking yesterday on the sidelines of a conference in Cancun, Gabriel Contreras, president of Mexican telecoms…
Incumbent America Movil (NYSE: AMX) will have to delay the spin-off of its tower unit, Telesites, until September, local media report.
Speaking yesterday on the sidelines of a conference in Cancun, Gabriel Contreras, president of Mexican telecoms regulator IFT, said the watchdog has not yet approved the demerger, which is part of a wider telecoms reform aimed at curbing AMX’s dominance.
He pointed out that the IFT needs to discuss the subject in a plenary session to be held in August or September.
An AMX spokesperson said that the spin-off is subject to certain conditions, including the IFT’s review.
“The process is going as expected,” the person added.
The towerco, which consists of 10,800 masts, was initially expected to list its shares on the Mexican Bourse in early June.
However, last month the company told New Street Research analyst Soomit Datta the IPO would be delayed until late summer.
Telesites will be headed by Gerardo Kuri, current CEO of listed real estate company Inmeubles Carso. AMX owner Carlos Slim recently bought out the remaining 19.5% stake it did not already own in that company.
In a recent interview with TelecomFinance, the company said: “We are spinning off Telesites and it will become an independent company. America Movil will not retain any stake in the company and it will not participate on the board or the management of Telesites.”
America Movil shareholders will receive one Telesites share for each of their existing shares.
AMX will shift Ps20.6bn (US$1.3bn) of debt into Telesites, initially in the form of a loan from AMX. It will also move Ps2bn (US$130m) of cash into the tower company.
New tenants will be offered the same rental price as AMX’s wireless unit Telcel.
“We continue to have a positive view on the potential for Telesites,” Datta said. “In addition to a structural lack of sites, we believe AT&T will help drive growth. We also think there could be site demand from the 700 MHz wholesale network in Mexico and Telefonica.”
