The government of Honduras is looking to appoint a specialised investment bank to sell off a controlling stake in state-owned incumbent Hondutel to a strategic partner.
It hopes to sell 51% of the operator to a private company, give 22.5% to employees,…
The government of Honduras is looking to appoint a specialised investment bank to sell off a controlling stake in state-owned incumbent Hondutel to a strategic partner.
It hopes to sell 51% of the operator to a private company, give 22.5% to employees, offload 4% to pension funds, and retain a 22.5% stake, local newspaper El Heraldo reported.
Hondutel reportedly owes its employees US$96m, its suppliers another US$40m, and has contingent liabilities of up to US$125m.
The government had tried to auction off a 49% stake in its mobile operator before. But none of the 13 companies interested in the stake made a bid that satisfied Hondutel and the process fell apart earlier this year.
Rigoberto Romero, head of the intervention commission set up to save Hondutel, said that the privatisation would shield the struggling telco from political interference. The company has had issues with corruption in the past, catching the eye of the US agency the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2009.
Hondutel accounted for a less than 2% mobile market share in Q4 2012, with Millicom’s Tigo and America Movil’s Claro brand dominating the market, according to data from Signals.
In 2007 Honduras had already tried to privatise 51% of Hondutel. The only bid received was US$106m from Telmex – the government rejected that as it amounted to around a third of the US$300m it was holding out for.
Privatisation has also faced strong opposition from trade unions in the country.
