EMP Checks Out of Axtel

EMP Latin America, a Washington DC-based private equity fund, has sold a final stake in Mexican telecom Axtel. The roughly 2.5% stake was the last of an original 15% equity investment made in 1997, when Axtel was a startup. EMP got rid of half the original stake in Axtel’s 2005 IPO, and followed in 2007 by another 5% divestiture, the firm says. The final portion was sold for roughly $53m, according to people familiar with the deal. EMP is heard in the market raising a new vehicle for LatAm, though size and timing of a final close are still forthcoming.