Brazil's Oi says it's interested in purchasing GVT

Brazil-based telco Oi on Friday said it is one of the suitors interested in purchasing competitive telco Global Village Telecom (GVT).

"We consider any market opportunity and we are starting to analyze GVT," said Chief Executive Francisco Valim, according to a report in the The Valor newspaper.

Besides Oi, Telecom Italia (NYSE: TI) and DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV) have also expressed interest in purchasing GVT.

Marco Patuano, Telecom Italia SpA's CEO, said its board would discuss buying GVT at its meeting in December, adding it would need money to make a bid on the company.

GVT is "is a good asset, an interesting asset--not cheap," Patuano said at the Morgan Stanley TMT Conference in Barcelona.

DirecTV also said in September it is interested in bidding for the company as a way to bolster its growing Latin American presence. While DirecTV would not comment on any potential deal, its Latin American base rose 36 percent year-over-year in the last quarter.

Anyone who wants to purchase GVT should be prepared to pay a big price. Reuters reported earlier this month that Vivendi wants €7 billion ($8.9 billion) for GVT.

Vivendi, GVT's parent, has been looking to sell the unit as a way to turn around its own financial fortunes. In August, Vivendi hired Rothschild and Deutsche Bank to advise it on what it should do with GVT.

The France-based telecom and media conglomerate at that time said a potential share of GVT would help it stem the 29 percent decline in its share price.

For more:
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