Mexican wireless operator Iusacell inched closer to being part owned by Televisa after the broadcaster accepted the conditions attached to regulatory clearance for the acquisition of a 50% stake in the carrier for US$1.6bn.
The Mexican competition…
Mexican wireless operator Iusacell inched closer to being part owned by Televisa after the broadcaster accepted the conditions attached to regulatory clearance for the acquisition of a 50% stake in the carrier for US$1.6bn.
The Mexican competition regulator Cofeco had originally barred the broadcaster from buying into Iusacell on antitrust grounds as it is owned by Grupo Salinas, which operates Televisa’s main broadcast rival TV Azteca.
Televisa’s appeal to the original decision was granted on 14 June, but came with onerous conditions attached regarding advertising, programming, corporate governance and a future auction of TV spectrum.
Televisa has already paid Grupo Salinas for its stake in the operator, and yesterday it said it had converted the debentures issued by Iusacell’s holding company into common stock.
However, Televisa won’t hold the stake until Grupo Salinas also approves the conditional antitrust clearance. In a first reaction following Cofeco’s decision last week, the group took an adversarial stance, with a spokesperson telling TelecomFinance the conditions were “practically a message to stop the investment”.
A decision from Grupo Salinas, whether or not to accept the conditions attached to antitrust clearance, is expected later this week.
