Indebted Spanish incumbent Telefonica has moved US$1.5bn worth of shares in its Peruvian unit to a holding company ahead of a likely IPO of its Latin American businesses.
In a statement to the Bolsa de Valores de Lima, Telefonica del Peru said the…
Indebted Spanish incumbent Telefonica has moved US$1.5bn worth of shares in its Peruvian unit to a holding company ahead of a likely IPO of its Latin American businesses.
In a statement to the Bolsa de Valores de Lima, Telefonica del Peru said the transference of almost 50% of its stock to Telefonica LatinoAmerica Holding was to simplify its corporate structure.
Telefonica is considering a partial listing of its LatAm businesses next year. Most recently Gilmar Camurra, CFO at Telefonica Brazil, said it was planning to float 10% to 15% of its LatAm operations which could raise between €4bn (US$5.3bn) and €6bn (US$8bn).
This would give the LatAm unit a value of about €40bn, or roughly 5x EBITDA.
Camurra said the entity to be listed would include all of Telefonica’s LatAm assets. The shares would be listed in Madrid and London.
The IPO would be the latest measure taken by Telefonica as it looks to address its debt pile.
In its Q3 results Telefonica revealed net debt of €56bn, down €2.3bn from the end of Q2.
The company has made a number of disposals and refinanced part of its debt. In late October Telefonica placed 23% of its German unit, raising €1.45bn.
