Media reported that the Mexican competition authority has rejected the acquisition of a 50% stake in mobile operator Iusacell by TV giant Grupo Televisa.
The decision, which has not been officially announced yet by the regulator, was reported by the…
Media reported that the Mexican competition authority has rejected the acquisition of a 50% stake in mobile operator Iusacell by TV giant Grupo Televisa.
The decision, which has not been officially announced yet by the regulator, was reported by the Wall Street Journal and Mexican newspaper El Universal.
Citing sources close to the process, El Universal wrote yesterday that the Federal Competition Commission (CFC) rejected the deal by three votes to two.
The same information was given in a Wall Street Journal article, which cited a person close to the transaction.
However, other local media reports suggested that the deal may have been approved.
The headline of an article on the website of magazine Proceso stated that the deal had been approved with strong conditions and Excelsior newspaper also wrote that the deal had been given conditional approval.
In a statement on Tuesday, the CFC said that it had come to a decision on the deal, but that its officials could not speak publicly about the decision until the sides involved had been notified.
The regulators has until 7 February to inform the public of the decision.
Televisa announced in April that it had agreed to make an investment of US$37.5m in equity and US$1.565bn in Iusacell’s debt that is convertible into equity. If the deal were to be completed, Televisa would hold a 50% stake in Iusacell.
There has been concern about the potential impact of the deal on competition in the Mexican TV sector. Iusacell is currently owned by Grupo Salinas, which also controls the broadcaster TV Azteca, a competitor of Televisa.
Defenders of the deal have claimed that it would create a powerful counterweight to America Movil in the Mexican telecoms market.
Spokespeople for both Iusacell and Televisa declined to comment until the companies had been notified of the decision.
