Latin America has been a hotbed of M&A activity in recent years.
And it isn’t just telecom operators that are changing hands—the tower sector has also accounted for a number of eye-catching deals across the region.
TeleGeography’s daily CommsUpdate newsletter has featured a staggering 76,000 telecom stories since making its debut back in December 2002!
As a tumultuous year draws to a close, we’re looking back at the telecom stories that captured our readers’ attention during 2020. From shareholder shenanigans to mega-mergers, from tax disputes to 5G launches, the CommsUpdate team left no stone unturned in their quest to bring you the biggest daily news stories.
The Brazilian telecom sector is a hotbed of deal-making activity in 2020. And regional consolidation is a theme.
While industry observers are focused on the high-profile auction of Oi’s mobile assets—which is scheduled to take place on December 14—a series of broadband-centric deals have taken place under the radar.
Today, we explore the companies who are pulling the strings.
Earlier this month, UK fixed-line operator TalkTalk received a proposal from its minority shareholder Toscafund Asset Management.
Toscafund made an offer of GBP0.97 per share in a bid to take the company private. If approved by the company’s owners—who include founder Sir Charles Dunstone, the telco’s majority shareholder—the deal will value TalkTalk at a cool GBP1.1 billion.
Altice USA recently saw its shocking takeover bid for Canada’s Cogeco rejected by the latter’s controlling shareholders, the Audet Family.
The unusually-structured deal would have seen U.S. cable player Altice retain Cogeco’s U.S. business, Atlantic Broadband. However, it would sell the company’s Canadian assets to Rogers Communications, which came as a surprise to industry observers in both markets.
After years of speculation that market liberalization was coming in Ethiopia, in May 2020 authorities kick-started the long-awaited licensing process. The Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) issued a request for expressions of interest (EoI) for two new telecom licenses.
With the deadline now passed, we look at the bidders vying to disrupt one of Africa’s last mobile monopolies.
Following back-to-back 5G-suitable spectrum auctions, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revealed the registered bidders ahead of this summer’s planned 3.5GHz sale.
Today, we look at 5G auctions to date and identify the operators who are spending big to strengthen their spectrum portfolios.
Headquartered in Amsterdam, United Group is a multiplay telecom and media provider that's developed a large footprint across southeast Europe. Last month, the company secured the acquisition of Tele2 Croatia from Sweden’s Tele2 Group.
The deal is valued at EUR220 million—easily one of United Group’s most notable takeovers.
