RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil-Telecom Italia Mobile said it agreed to acquire the 19.43-percent and 18.53-percent stakes held by UGB S.A. and Vicunha S.A. in Brazilian operator Maxitel S.A. TIM will pay $240.4 million for the total 37.96-percent stake.
TIM already owns 58.7 percent of Maxitel equity. When necessary regulatory approvals are obtained, it plans to acquire the remaining 10 percent of the 5-percent common stock held by each UGB and Vicunha, giving TIM a 100-percent economic interest. TIM owned 43.15 percent of Maxitel’s common stock before this transaction.
“This acquisition is part of a plan to increase the Telecom Italia Group’s presence in Latin America, which, along with other transactions, will be completed by the end of the year,” said Roberto Colaninno, president of TIM and Telecom Italia. “TIM will also be participating in the auctions for the new PCS licenses to be held in Brazil at the beginning of 2001.”
Brazil will begin its auction of 1800 MHz personal communications services licenses in Bands C, D and E in January. Maxitel operates in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais, Bahia and Sergipe.
TIM in November acquired 57 percent of Venezuelan operator Digitel. TIM also owns a mobile license in Peru and holds a stake in Chile’s Entel PCS.
