Colombia's government has announced that it will be offering its 32.5 percent stake in Colombia Telecomunicaciones (Coltel) for a total of COP 2.3 trillion (around EUR 682 million). In a statement, the finance ministry said the government's 1.1 million shares will be sold for COP 2,075 each and will be in offer until 03 October, initially to special interest groups and then to local and international investors. Telefonica owns the remaining 67.5 percent of the company, which operates under the brand name Movistar, following the merger of Coltel and Movistar Colombia in 2012.
Last year Telefonica came to an agreement with the Colombian government to increase Coltel’s capital by around EUR 1.37 billion to pay debt owed to asset management fund Parapat. Telefonica and the government also announced a further EUR 472 million capital increase in proportion to their respective stakes to comply with an arbitration fine for breaching a government contract for mobile services.
