Virgin Mobile Latin America (VMLA) has raised US$86m in a funding round and increased its debt facility by US$22.5m to grow its expanding MVNO venture. Investment firm Temasek Holdings, owned by the government of Singapore, led the equity round and has…
Virgin Mobile Latin America (VMLA) has raised US$86m in a funding round and increased its debt facility by US$22.5m to grow its expanding MVNO venture.
Investment firm Temasek Holdings, owned by the government of Singapore, led the equity round and has become a significant shareholder, joining Virgin Group, Hermes Growth Partners, Eplanet Capital and El Coigue.
VMLA increased the size of its debt facility to US$41.5m after reaching an agreement with International Finance Corporation (IFC) and a fund managed by investment firm LAP Latin American Partners.
VMLA will use the new capital to launch its MVNO brand in Mexico this year, and then Brazil in 2015. VMLA said it expects to receive its telecom license from Brazilian regulators in the coming weeks.
In a statement the company added that it would be looking to other possibilities in the region as well, including in Chile and Colombia where it already operates.
The MVNO, founded in 2010, has now attracted a total of US$140m in equity investments over the last three years.
It launched in Chile in 2012 and Colombia in 2013. VMLA says it is the leading MVNO in total customer numbers and rate of growth in both markets. Its CEO, Peter Macnee, has said the company is adding well over 100,000 new subscribers per month, and will soon reach one million active customers in the region.
