Telefonica has hired Banco Santander to find a buyer for a stake in its Chilean fibre-optic subsidiary Infraco, according to unnamed sources cited by El Confidencial. The Spanish group set up Infraco earlier this year and is now looking to sell off 50 percent of its share capital for around EUR 250 million, said the report, adding that the deal would allow it to retain control of the unit while boosting the company’s fibre deployment plans in Chile.
Telefonica Chile’s fixed customer base declined by 12.2 percent year on year to 1.07 million at the end of December but fibre accesses increased by 16.9 percent to 611,100 compared to the year-earlier figure of 522,900 thanks to a 33 percent rise in premises passed to 2.3 million, mainly in the capital Santiago. The operator recently doubled the speed on the majority of its fibre-optic plans at no extra cost to subscribers.
