Liberty Latin America (LLA) said it has entered into a consent judgment with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding its acquisition of AT&T’s operations in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The DOJ finally cleared the transaction over a year after it was reached but required LLA to divest certain fibre-based assets and customer accounts in Puerto Rico to ensure price competition. Separately, LLA confirmed that it agreed to sell part of its B2B landline business in Puerto Rico to local operator WorldNet for an undisclosed amount to secure the DOJ's approval.
In its statement, LLA said it now intends to close the transaction on 31 October around 13 months after agreeing to acquire AT&T’s operators in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin for USD 1.95 billion in cash. The deal includes network assets, leases and real estate plus 1.1 million mobile subscribers and contracts, with around 1,300 current AT&T employees set to move over to Liberty Latin America. AT&T will retain FirstNet responsibilities and relationships as well as Directv and certain global business customer relationships.
WorldNet is based in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, and is the largest locally-owned telecommunications provider in the territory. The DOJ said LLA and AT&T are two of the three biggest wireline providers in Puerto Rico, and own two of the three most extensive fibre infrastructures on the island. As a result, it approved WorldNet as the acquirer of certain LLA fibre assets to preserve “vigorous competition for enterprise customers in Puerto Rico.
