Brazilian telco Oi has mandated Credit Suisse to sell its call centres in a bid to reduce its debt levels, its CEO Bayard Gontijo told Bloomberg.The sale of the assets, which employ reportedly 11% of its workforce, is part of a long-term turnaround…
Brazilian telco Oi has mandated Credit Suisse to sell its call centres in a bid to reduce its debt levels, its CEO Bayard Gontijo told Bloomberg.
The sale of the assets, which employ reportedly 11% of its workforce, is part of a long-term turnaround strategy aimed at repositioning the operator as a national champion in an effort to lead the country’s telecoms consolidation process.
“What we want for the future is to regain our investment grade,” Gontijo was quoted as saying. “We have to work doing structural changes, transforming the business, selling assets, reducing the leverage. It’s a process.”
In an interview with TelecomFinance last month, Oi’s recently-appointed CFO Flavio Nicolay Guimarães said that the Rio de Janeiro-based operator is still working on the disposal of its African assets, and hopes to reach an agreement during the second half of the year.
He added that besides Africatel, the company owns 500 to 1,000 towers, 7,000 properties, and some other non-strategic assets.
In April, the European Commission regulators approved Oi’s €7.4bn (US$8.3bn) sale of PT Portugal to Altice, subject to the divestment of its Portuguese assets. The Eu regulator said telecoms holding Altice must offload cableco Cabovisao and fixed-line player Oni to gain clearance.
The regulatory approval is good news for Oi, which inherited PT Portugal as part of the ill-fated merger with the Portuguese incumbent, first agreed in October 2013.
The company, which holds a domestic fixed telephony concession due to expire in 2025, has long been expected to place a bid for rival Telecom Italia-owned TIM Brasil, itself linked to buyer interest in Oi.
According to a local analyst, the company’s high debt levels coupled with this regulatory uncertainty have so far put off potential investors, including TIM.
