Virgin Mobile Latin America (VMLA), the Latin American unit of UK-based MVNO group Virgin Mobile, has secured US$26.5m in new equity funding through a private placement.
VMLA said that the new funding comprised equity from existing shareholders,…
Virgin Mobile Latin America (VMLA), the Latin American unit of UK-based MVNO group Virgin Mobile, has secured US$26.5m in new equity funding through a private placement.
VMLA said that the new funding comprised equity from existing shareholders, including the Virgin Group itself, and from several new investors.
These include Hermes Growth Partners (HGP) and Souter Investments, the investment vehicle for British businessman Brian Souter.
VMLA’s placement agent for the private placement was UBS.
Juan Villalonga, co-founder of HGP and a former Telefonica chairman and CEO, has joined the VMLA board.
VMLA is set to launch MVNO services in Chile in April. It is also planning to offer services in seven other Latin American markets, including Brazil and Mexico.
In an interview with TelecomFinance last month, VMLA’s chairman Phil Wallace said that the company would need at least US$300m in funding for the eight markets it is targeting initially.
A spokesman said today that the US$300m figure is “a good estimate in order to roll out our strategy across the region in the next few years”.