MEXICO CITY--Mexican businessman Ricardo Salinas Pliego has
agreed to buy broadcast and media company Grupo Televisa's 50%
stake in mobile phone company Iusacell, resuming full ownership of
the wireless carrier for which he is now seeking a strategic
partner.
Grupo Salinas said Wednesday that Mr. Salinas will pay $717
million for Televisa's stake in Iusacell, less than the $1.6
billion that Televisa paid for it in 2011. Televisa said in a
release that it will book a noncash loss of $320 million on the
investment.
Mr. Salinas, who controls Mexican broadcaster Azteca and banking
and retail concern Grupo Elektra, said in a release that Iusacell
has doubled its customer base to 8 million subscribers in the three
years since Televisa invested in the company, and increased its
revenue by about 50%.
Grupo Salinas spokesman Luis Niño de Rivera said the company is
looking for an international partner with experience, technological
capacity and "economic muscle," and that it is talking with several
potential partners.
Iusacell competes in the Mexican mobile market with Telcel, the
unit of billionaire Carlos Slim's America Movil which has about a
70% market share, with Spain's Telefónica, which has around 20% of
the market, and with the Mexican unit of NII Holdings Inc.
In July, amid reports that Telefónica was in talks to acquire
Iusacell, Mr. Salinas said that his half of the company wasn't up
for sale. Telefónica declined to comment Wednesday on the
transaction.
Grupo Salinas said the new telecommunications laws and
regulations on América Móvil favor competition, and will enable
Iusacell to deploy its infrastructure to more markets in Mexico,
generating more opportunities for expansion. The regulations
include the elimination of charges by Telcel to complete calls from
rival networks, while Telcel has to pay to connect outgoing
calls.
América Móvil is planning to sell assets to lower its market
share in Mexico to less than 50% and thereby avoid the regulations
imposed on it as the dominant carrier.
Mr. Niño de Rivera said that won't affect Iusacell's plans. "Mr.
Salinas sees this as an enormous opportunity, regardless of what
the others do," he said
Mr. Salinas bought Iusacell in 2003 for around $10 million--plus
the assumption of $800 million in debt--from Verizon Communications
Inc. of the U.S. and Vodafone Group PLC of the U.K., which had each
invested around $1 billion in the company but were unable to turn
it around against stiff competition from Mr. Slim and the growing
presence of Telefónica in the Mexican market.
The purchase of Televisa's stake requires approval of Mexican
telecommunications regulators.
Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com
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