Madrid (AFP) – Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica announced the sale of its Chilean unit for $1.2 billion on Tuesday in its push to leave Latin America and concentrate on core markets elsewhere. Once a jewel in the crown of public Spanish companies, debt-laden and loss-making Telefonica has adopted a strategic shift focusing on Britain, Germany, Spain, and Brazil.
Its subsidiary Inversiones Telefonica Internacional Holding transferred all of Telefonica Chile’s capital to French holding company NJJ Holding and Luxembourg-based telecoms operator Millicom, the company said in a statement submitted to Spain’s stock market regulator. An additional payment of $150 million was possible “depending on the possible occurrence of certain events in the Chilean telecommunications market,” the statement added.
The transaction lengthens a list of Latin American divestments in recent years including Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. The company booked a net loss of 1.08 billion euros ($1.3 billion) between January and September 2025, weighed down by losses linked to asset sales in Latin America. Telefonica Chile’s debt stood at 479 million euros at the end of last year.
A voluntary departure plan is set to shed at least 4,500 jobs in Spain, around one quarter of Telefonica’s workforce in the country.
© 2024 AFP
