Anatel’s superintendent of competition has said consolidation in the Brazilian market will hinge upon whether all four operators acquire 700 MHz spectrum when auctioned in September.
Carlos Baigorri said that if an operator cannot afford to…
Anatel’s superintendent of competition has said consolidation in the Brazilian market will hinge upon whether all four operators acquire 700 MHz spectrum when auctioned in September.
Carlos Baigorri said that if an operator cannot afford to participate in the auction then the market will want to break that telco up.
In an interview with Bloomberg, the official used Oi, Brazil’s most indebted mobile player, as an example and said he feared for the former incumbent’s existence if it could not raise the funds.
Oi’s credit rating has taken a hit after Portugal Telecom, which is in the process of merging with, was not repaid US$1.2bn of Rioforte commercial paper that matured last week. Oi has been selling off assets to improve its balance sheet
Oi is in the only operator which has not committed to take part in the auction. Telefonica unit Vivo and America Movil subsidiary Claro have both said they will bid for licences and, yesterday, Telecom Italia’s CEO Marco Patuano said TIM Brasil would also participate.
TIM had previously been touted as a break-up candidate as Telefonica was suggested to have indirect control of the operator via its stake in Telecom Italia. However, that scenario appears less likely after Telefonica moved to cut its stake in the Italian incumbent through a mandatory exchangeable bond offering last week.
