Virgin Mobile Latin America (VMLA) has secured U.S. $26.5 million in new equity funding to develop its regional business and launch mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) services in Chile.
The new funding consists of equity from existing shareholders, including the Virgin Group and ePlanet Capital, and from several new investors, including Hermes Growth Partners (“HGP”), CANEPA and Souter Investments.
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Last October, VMLA announced that Chile would be the first Latin American country to receive its MVNO services. The UK-based Virgin Group plans to launch operations in 7 other markets, including Colombia, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, by packaging products specifically to meet the needs of the youth market.
VMLA aims to offer new products and services to more than 450 million consumers across Latin America under the global Virgin brand, which now has more than 15 million customers worldwide.
VMLA has been working throughout the region in cooperation with local partners, regulators and mobile network operators (MNOs). The company has signed with Telefónica’s Movistar to operate in Chile and in Colombia.
Juan Villalonga, former Chairman and CEO of Telefonica S.A., is the co-founder of HGP and has joined the VMLA Board of Directors effective immediately. Souter Investments is the private investment vehicle of Sir Brian Souter, founder of Stagecoach Group. This sizeable new funding is a vote of confidence from international investors in VMLA as well as in the future outlook of the region’s mobile telecommunications sector.
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