AT&T has reached an agreement with Mexican holding Grupo Salinas to acquire mobile operator Iusacell for USD 2.5 billion, inclusive of Iusacell debt. Under the terms of the agreement, the US telco will acquire all of Iusacell’s mobile properties, including licences, network assets, retail stores and approximately 8.6 million mobile subscribers. The acquisition will be completed after Grupo Salinas, the current owner of 50 percent of Iusacell, closes its announced purchase of the other 50 percent of Iusacell, previously owned by Televisa.
Iusacell offers mobile service under both the Iusacell and Unefon brands with a network that covers about 70 percent of Mexico’s population. AT&T said that it plans to expand Iusacell’s network infrastructure to cover millions of additional consumers and businesses in Mexico. AT&T chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson said that the acquisition of Iusacell is a direct result of the telecoms reforms implemented by President Pena Nieto to encourage more competition and more investment in the local telecoms sector.
Iusacell operates a 3G network based on GSM/UMTS technology, the same that AT&T uses in the US. Iusacell owns between 20 and 25 MHz of spectrum in the 800 MHz band, primarily in the southern region of the country, including Mexico City and Guadalajara, and an average of 39MHz of PCS spectrum nationwide.
AT&T said that Iusacell will continue to be headquartered in Mexico City. The acquisition needs to be approved by Mexico’s telecom regulator IFT and Mexico’s National Foreign Investments Commission. AT&T expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of next year.
