CTC is Chile’s largest telephone company, and the sale will strip the Santiago-based telco of one of its fastest-growing units. However, the board of CTC have unanimously endorsed the sale, which must be approved by shareholders.
The unit is Chile’s second largest mobile group after Entel, and will give its buyer an additional 2.5 million customers.
The move is part of Telefonica Moviles’ plans to expand in Latin America to fuel revenue growth. Adding more customers in South America is a key part of this strategy because it is easier to expand its customer base and revenue in this region than in its saturated domestic market.
The Madrid, Spain-based mobile operator is already spending $5.85bn to acquire the Latin American wireless assets of US carrier BellSouth Corp, which should be completed this year. This deal will take its customer base to 66 million, from 54.4 million at the end of March.
