CANTV to buy Digitel, why?

November 5, 2004

Venezuela’s largest telecom operator CANTV has just announced an agreemnet to purchase Digitel, the country’s third largest cellular operator for US$ 450 million from Teelecom Italia. CANTV is currently the second largest operator via its Movilnet subsidiary with close to three million subscribers. Digitel had around one million subscribers. As long as the regulators approve the transaction. Will CANTV now turn around and sell Movilnet with three million CDMA subscribers to America Moviles to allow the regulators to approve the transaction? Or will it sell its fixed line operations to the Government? Stay tuned… The company also announced a dividend of 43 cents (US) per ADR, which will be paid at the official exchange rate, in another perverse act of discrimination of local investors. Locals will get the bolivars…

This entry was posted on November 5, 2004 at 8:05 pm and is filed under Venezuela.

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