America Movil considers integrating Brazil telco, pay-TV operations

More action on the Brazil broadband front as America Movil (NYSE: AMX) said it is studying the possibility of slimming down operations in the country by merging its fixed and mobile carriers and its cable TV operations.

Embratel Participacoes, the third-largest wireline telecom in Brazil, will structurally integrate with number-three ranked mobile operator Telecom Americas and cable operator Net Servicos de Comunicacao SA. The three units said that they are "evaluating options" for the merger in a joint statement issued Thursday, according to Telegeography.

The move could put America Movil in a much stronger position in Brazil's fast-heating competitive communications market.

America Movil last year became the dominant pay-TV operator in Latin America, with 22 percent of the region's 51 million subscribers. The conglomerate did so by wrapping all of its regional operators--Telmex, Telmex Internacional and Net Servicos of Brazil--under the same umbrella.

"The proposed merger of operations would create a telecoms giant with the leading position in Brazil's pay TV and broadband Internet markets (NET) and the second-biggest share of the country's mobile phone sector (Claro)," according to a NY Daily News article.

Last year, Spain-based Telefonica accomplished a similar merger, joining its fixed-line and mobile divisions in Brazil into a single unit.

Despite its pay-TV coup, America Movil's overall revenues dipped slightly in the fourth quarter of 2012, falling 1.1 percent over the previous quarter to MXN 198 billion (USD 16.2 billion).

For more:
- Telegeography has this story
- NY Daily News India has this coverage

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