Telefónica Continues its Exit from Latin America, Sells Ecuadorian Subsidiary

Telefónica has finalised the sale of its Ecuadorian subsidiary (Otecel) to Millicom Spain for 329 million euros on Thursday, marking another step in its strategy to exit assets held in Latin America over the past decades. This move could yield a total of 2.277 billion euros based on the divestments already agreed. The company, chaired by Marc Murtra, confirmed this to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) late in the day.

The Spanish operator, in which the State is the largest shareholder with 10% (through SEPI), almost equal to the Saudi technology group STC (9.9% of the shares), has indicated that the closure of the deal implies "a reduction of Telefónica Group's net financial debt by approximately 273 million euros."

As previously communicated, according to the company itself, this operation is part of Telefónica's asset portfolio management policy and "is aligned with its strategy to reduce exposure to Hispanic America."

In recent months, the company has already completed the sale of its subsidiaries in Argentina (to the Clarín group for approximately 1.190 billion euros), Peru (to Argentina's Integra Tec International for 900,000 euros), Uruguay (to Millicom Spain for 389 million euros), and also Colombia (to Millicom for 368 million euros). In total, nearly 2.277 billion euros from this series of divestments in the region.

In this context, it is worth noting that the sales of Telefónica's subsidiaries in Argentina and Uruguay are fully closed and signed. However, according to Europa Press, the transactions agreed in Uruguay, Colombia, and now Ecuador are still pending certain regulatory approvals from the relevant authorities, primarily of a national nature.

Telefónica's Ecuadorian subsidiary has around five million customers, with a market share in the country of approximately 28% at the end of the first quarter, behind Claro (54%) and ahead of CNT (18%).