AT&T has completed its acquisition of Nextel Mexico from NII Holdings for US$1.875bn, less US$427m in net debt and other adjustments.
The deal includes companies operating under the name Nextel Mexico along with spectrum licences, network assets,…
AT&T has completed its acquisition of Nextel Mexico from NII Holdings for US$1.875bn, less US$427m in net debt and other adjustments.
The deal includes companies operating under the name Nextel Mexico along with spectrum licences, network assets, subscribers and retail stores.
The US telco has pursued an aggressive expansion strategy in Mexico, buying third-largest player Iusacell for US$2.5bn in January and agreeing to purchase Nextel Mexico a few weeks later. The agreements followed regulatory changes aimed at attracting foreign investors and boosting competition.
AT&T will merge Iusacell and Nextel Mexico into one company, which it says will focus on “bringing more choices, better services and faster mobile internet speeds to more locations throughout Mexico”.
The telco plans to create the first ‘North American Mobile Service area’ covering more than 400 million customers and businesses in the US and Mexico.
Thaddeus Arroyo, CEO of AT&T Mexico and Iusacell, will lead the combined company.
Announcing the completion, AT&T noted that Mexico’s status as the second-largest economy in Latin America together with its growing middle class and close ties to the US make it an attractive place for it to invest.
The deal has the approval of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, which is overseeing the restructuring of NII Holdings, and of the Mexican telecoms regulator IFT.
Meanwhile, AT&T is still awaiting regulatory approval for its planned US$48.5bn acquisition of satellite operator DirecTV.