Millicom has completed its acquisition of Telefonica’s Panama unit.
In February this year, Millicom revealed that it had signed a $1.7 billion agreement to acquire Telefonica’s operations across several Latin American markets, including Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The latter acquisition closed in May, while Costa Rica’s regulator is still reviewing the deal.
When it originally announced the agreement, Millicom said that was aiming to close the acquisition of all three units by the end of 2019. Telefonica is in the process of divesting its Central American units, having sold off operations in El Salvador and Guatemala earlier in the year to America Movil.
Millicom said that its acquisition of Movistar Panama “accelerates the execution of Millicom’s fixed-mobile convergence strategy and helps consolidate the company’s leadership position in Central America.” The group noted that the Panama unit has 1.6 million mobile subscribers.
In October last year, Millicom acquired the fixed-line operator Cable Ona, giving it a foothold in the Panama market as well and strengthening its offering. The group has divested many of its African units as it realigns its strategy towards Latin America.
