Cable & Wireless Panama (CWP), which is 49% owned by Liberty Latin America (LLA), is acquiring Claro Panama from America Movil (AM) for US$200 million.
The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions, and the companies expect it to close in the first half of 2022. CommsUpdate notes that Claro Panama generated revenue of US$157 million for the year ending 31st December 2020. The operator had 760,000 subscribers at the end of June 2021.
LLA’s President and CEO Balan Nair said: “The integrated business will operate over a network with extensive coverage and invest to deliver innovative mobile products and services for Panamanian consumers and B2B customers, including via leading technologies such as 5G.”
Panama’s government has been looking to cut the number of players in the wireless market from four to three in a bid to optimise the usage of spectrum resources. It introduced a law in April 2017 pressuring operators to resolve the issue, but LLA’s acquisition may be down to market conditions rather than government pressure.
