LatAm: NII Holdings misses $119M payment, sells Nextel Chile

NII Holdings has remained in the headlines in Latin America ever since it announced a likely bankruptcy last week. On August 15, the company, which operates under the Nextel brand in Latin America, said it has elected not to pay approximately $118.8 million in interest due on senior notes. A few days later, the company sold Nextel Chile to a group of international investors for an undisclosed sum.
The buyer was a joint venture made up of Grupo Veintitrés, an Argentine media company; Optimum Advisors, a U.S. private-equity firm; and ISM Capital, a London-based investment firm that focuses on emerging markets. As noted by the Wall Street Journal, negotiations are continuing with bondholders as the Latin American wireless provider attempts to restructure its debt load. The acquisition deal means Nextel Chile is unlikely to be involved in NII Holding’s potential Chapter 11 filing.
In addition, rumors surfaced this week that the Spanish-group Telefónica is evaluating an acquisition of the Nextel units in Brazil and Mexico. Telefónica told RCR Wireless News that it wouldn’t comment on the rumors. Buying Nextel’s Mexican unit would make sense as Telefónica has room to grow in the country since Mexico’s new antitrust telecom rules are forcing América Móvil to scale back its dominant role in the market. Telefónica is also reportedly in talks to acquire Grupo Iusacell, a deal that could be worth up to $4 billion.
Since January, Telefónica and NII Holdings have agreements whereby Telefónica provides NII’s subsidiaries (Nextel) with nationwide voice and data coverage services on Telefónica’s 3G wireless networks. With the agreement, Nextel’s 3G coverage has expanded throughout the countries.
More Latin American region news:

• Investment in the Venezuelan telecom sector reached $570 million in the 2Q14. There are about 30.3 million mobile lines in the country, of which prepaid lines represent 93% of the total.
• TIM Brazil issued a note confirming that Telecom Italia is in talks with Vivendi for the acquisition of its Brazilian unit GVT.
• Millicom, the international telecommunications and media company, announced the completion of the merger of its Tigo mobile business with the cable and fixed line operator UNE, owned by Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM).
• Telefónica has started to sell cellphones with the Firefox OS in El Salvador.
• Telecom Italia agreed with U.S. investment firm Fintech to extend the deadline to complete the sale of its Telecom Argentina division until September 1.
• Bolivia’s mobile phone imports reached $40.2 million during 2013, La Razon reported, citing data from the Bolivian Institute of Foreign Trade.
• BICS, a global provider of international connectivity and interoperability services, has reported operators in Brazil saw a spike of 400% in the use of roaming services in Brazil during June and July as match spectators, media and footballers from around the world shared their experience with friends and family at home.

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