Telecom Italia (TI) and US investment firm Fintech have agreed to extend the deadline to complete the US$960m sale of the Italian incumbent’s controlling stake in Telecom Argentina to 1 September.
TI said in a short statement that the agreement was…
Telecom Italia (TI) and US investment firm Fintech have agreed to extend the deadline to complete the US$960m sale of the Italian incumbent’s controlling stake in Telecom Argentina to 1 September.
TI said in a short statement that the agreement was reached yesterday evening, noting that all other terms and conditions of the stock purchase agreement entered into on 13 November 2013 remain unchanged.
TI CEO Marco Patuano told reporters in mid-June that he was unsure when the sale of the 22.7% stake in the Buenos Aires-based telco, originally expected to be finalised in early August, would close, as the national telecoms regulator Secom had not given a specific timeframe to rule on the deal. However, he stressed that no obstacles stood in the way of the deal proceeding.
Regulatory approval was complicated by Fintech’s interest in cableco and ISP Cablevision, but the firm decided to exit the asset at the end of May.
Last December, TI said it had completed the sale of stakes in Telecom Argentina held by its subsidiary Tierra Argentea to Fintech for US$109m.
However, the bulk of the deal involves the transfer of TI’s 68% stake in Sofora Telecommunicaciones for US$751m. Sofora in turn controls the Argentinean telco’s majority shareholder Nortel Inversora.
Fintech will pay a further US$100.5m, provided TI fulfils certain agreements to provide Telecom Argentina with services and technical support for the next three years, among other conditions.
Providing the second part of the deal closes, Fintech – the vehicle of low-profile Mexican investor David Martinez – plans to launch a tender offer for the remaining shares in Telecom Argentina.