Telmex Heard on Acquisition Trail

The successful spinoff of Telmex Internacional is expected to lead to acquisitions by the newly independent holding company. The $16bn Mexican spinoff is heard eyeing Telecom Argentina, Brazil’s Global Village Telecom and Chile’s Grupo GTD, according to bankers familiar with the company. The first two are said to be most actionable in the short term. “It’s going to be an acquisition machine, just like America Movil was when it was spun off from Telmex,” says a banker close to the corporate. Telmex Internacional is understood to be the largest spin-off ever done in LatAm. It was designed to allow the international and domestic units to each focus on their respective business and core geographic operations, thereby boosting competitiveness. Telmex Internacional, which has a net cash position, will focus on delivering high organic growth, and says it will pursue acquisition opportunities throughout LatAm wireline voice, video and data markets. The separation was advised by Lehman.