Telefonica sells Uruguay unit to Millicom for $440 million
MADRID, May 21 (Reuters) - Spanish telecom company Telefonica (TEF.MC), opens new tab said on Wednesday it agreed to sell its Uruguayan unit for $440 million to Luxembourg-based Millicom International (MICC.F), opens new tab as part of its strategy to exit Spanish-speaking Latin America.
At the end of the transaction Millicom, which operates telecom companies all over Latin America under the brand Tigo, will buy 100% of Telefonica's Uruguay unit, Telefonica said in a statement.
Telefonica did not specify whether the sale will imply a capital impairment on its accounts.
The Spanish company has recently sold its business in Peru and Argentina as it opted to focus on Spain, Brazil, Britain and Germany.
The company had to book an accounting loss of 1.7 billion euros ($1.93 billion) during the last quarter from the disposals in both South American countries.
($1 = 0.8821 euros)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
Ikea has launched a huge summer sale with bargains from 50p
IKEA has slashed prices in its huge summer sale - with some items scanning for as little as 50p. The retailer is offering hundreds of discounts on home essentials for a limited time only both online and in-store. Everything from soft furnishings to larger items such as wardrobes have been discounted, and free click-and-collect is also available. You can find your closest store by using the store locator on the website where you will also find the opening times. We spotted a Fejka artificial hanging potted plant that was reduced from £1 to 50p, a saving of 50% on the original price. Punters can make the same eye-popping saving for a sweet pea scented candle, a set of 15 cable ties and an eye-catching dish cloth. Customers can dig a little deeper into their pockets if they fancy a discounted mobile phone holder scanning for £1. A pack of two bamboo coasters are also selling for a quid, as is a smart black cable organiser bag. BRANCHING OUT It comes after IKEA opened its first hotel in Spain, on a very popular holiday island. Las Dunas de Santa Catalina Boutique House is a new two-star hotel owned by the interiors brand to open on Gran Canaria. Don't expect to see any of the iconic blue and yellow designs, however. The modern hotel, which has adult-only rooms, is more muted in its interiors. A small outdoor swimming pool is lined with sunloungers and overlooked by the hotel restaurant. And outdoor garden terrace is right by the restaurant as well, which serves breakfast. The only nod to the logo colours are in the bedroom, with some having blue or yellow bedspreads. Rooms range from double and triple rooms to ones that have pool or garden views. SHUT UP SHOP However, it's not all good news for fans of the Swedish conglomerate. The famous Swedish homewares retailer has confirmed the Plan and Order point at the Stockport Merseyway Shopping Centre will cease in just a fortnight's time on June 16. The store in Greater Manchester is a smaller outlet than its usual out-of-town locations and is focused on kitchen, bedroom and living room planning. The aim was to provide somewhere for customers to go to get advice and expertise on home furnishing and somewhere where they could design their ideal fittings and get individual 3D interior plans from the interior designers. According to IKEA, the decision to close the store permanently was made due to 'a result of valuable learnings' where the company recognised their customers wanted a different retail experience, more along the lines of Click and Collect and return services. While the Stockport branch will close for good, other Plan and Order points, such as the ones in Dundee, York and Hull, will be adapted to meet those new demands and also include a small range of home furnishing accessories to buy.
Reuters
9 hours ago
- Reuters
Brazil's Lula bets on agriculture to drive higher growth in 2025
June 6 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Friday that growth in the agriculture sector may allow Latin America's largest economy to defy current projections and expand this year more than in 2024, when it notched growth of 3.4%. Lula's optimistic remarks diverge from his own government's forecast, as the Finance Ministry sees Brazil's gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowing to 2.4% in 2025 amid tight monetary conditions. The comments followed the publication of Brazil's first-quarter GDP figures last week, which showed year-on-year growth of 2.9% fueled by a jump in agricultural activity thanks to a bumper harvest of soybeans, the country's top farm export. The South American country is the world's largest exporter of soy, coffee, cotton, sugar, beef and chicken, as well as a top supplier of corn and pork. "Our first-quarter growth demonstrates that we can once again surprise the world and grow above the global average," Lula told an event in Paris, where the country was recognized as free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination. "If last year we grew 3.4% with agriculture not expanding as much as we expected, I think agriculture growth this year can allow us to think about growing a bit more," the leftist leader added. Private economists polled on a weekly basis by the central bank expect Brazil's GDP to grow 2.13% this year.
Reuters
11 hours ago
- Reuters
IMF says Latin America must maintain fiscal plans amid uncertainty
ASUNCION, June 6 (Reuters) - Countries in Latin America should maintain prudent fiscal policies to strengthen their economies amid a swift escalation of trade tensions and policy uncertainty, Nigel Clarke, the International Monetary Fund's deputy managing director told Reuters on Friday. "Now is not the time to change policy frameworks or abandon fiscal plans," Clarke said in a written response ahead of a visit to Paraguay on Friday, where he will launch a regional training program to "strengthen analytical and institutional capacity across the region," according to Clarke. Latin America weathered the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic better than expected, he acknowledged, withdrawing emergency support policies introduced during the health crisis in a timely fashion. Since then, however, countries including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay have returned to similar debt levels observed at the height of the pandemic in 2020. That means their economies are exposed to more risk from market volatility, particularly in the United States, at a time when it is more difficult to project global growth. "Our message to the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean is to continue implementing the necessary structural reforms and to strengthen the resilience of their economies," Clarke said, adding that trade should be deepened by reducing trade barriers. The IMF in April revised down its growth estimate for Latin America and the Caribbean to 2.0% from last year's 2.4% expansion, down from a January estimate for 2.5% growth. That revision was mainly driven by Mexico's economy, strongly intertwined with that of the United States, as U.S. trade tariffs bite into exports. Clarke on Friday will launch a regional IMF training program in Paraguay for South America and Mexico to support countries in professional formation and updating data. The regional training program, hosted by Paraguay's Central Bank, kicks off on Friday with eight courses spread over the next twelve months, with the first course focusing on macroeconomic and fiscal policies.
