(FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 2/25/15) 
   By Sara Randazzo 

The proposed sale of Nextel Mexico to AT&T Inc. for nearly $1.9 billion has cleared a milestone, though competing bidders still have a month to up the ante on the deal.

Latin America Nextel carrier NII Holdings Inc. won approval Feb. 17 from Judge Shelley Chapman in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan to proceed with a sale process that aims to complete a deal by late next month.

Competitors have until March 17 to submit a rival bid, which would be tested at a March 20 auction in New York. NII plans to go back before Judge Chapman March 23 to win final clearance of a sale. Outside of bankruptcy court, the sale also needs the approval of Mexican regulators.

The acquisition, if approved, would give AT&T a network that covers about 76 million people in the Mexican wireless market. The company plans to integrate Nextel Mexico with Iusacell, which AT&T agreed to buy late last year in a deal valued at $2.5 billion at the time.

The deal also includes all of NII's wireless properties in Mexico, including network assets, retail stores, three million subscribers and spectrum licenses. The proposed $1.875 billion purchase price excludes an unspecified amount of outstanding debt.

Anyone wishing to challenge AT&T's offer must put down a good-faith deposit of $32 million, which would go to AT&T if the telecommunications giant is trumped at an auction. AT&T would also be in line to have as much as $10 million in deal-related expenses reimbursed.

NII Holdings and several affiliates filed for chapter 11 protection in New York last fall after skipping a $118.8 million interest payment. Its operating companies in its key Brazil and Mexico markets weren't included in the bankruptcy.

The Nextel carrier has until April 13 to file a reorganization plan without the threat of rival proposals. In November, NII announced a restructuring deal that would put the company in the hands of its bondholders. Unsecured notes totaling $4.35 billion would be converted into equity in a reorganized NII, with key creditors Aurelius Capital Management and Capital Research and Management Co. agreeing to backstop a $500 million rights offering. The deal, which also includes $250 million in new debt, has broad support among creditors. Reston, Va.-based NII provides mobile communications services in Latin America, operating under the Nextel brand in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Chile.

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Michael Calia and Joseph Checkler contributed to this article.

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