Telecom magnate Carlos Slim's dream to create a wireless/wireline powerhouse came closer to reality late last week when the Mexico Federal Competition Commission green lighted his plan to combine his wireline and wireless holdings.
To battle the growing presence of rivals such as Telefonica, Slim's $21 billion plan hatched in January will place control of his wireline operations Telmex and Telmex Internacional into his America Movil wireless company.
The approval of Slim's plan comes as the regulator also approved Televisa's move to acquire a 40 percent stake in NII Holdings' wireless operator Nextel Mexico.
And while Mexican telecom regulators have tried and failed to challenge Slim's hold on their market, the Competition Commission ruled that the consolidation of his units would not alter competition in Mexico's telecom market. "The combinations Telmex-Telcel and Televisa-Nextel do not affect markets or represent a risk to competition," the regulator said in a statement.
For more:
- Reuters has this article
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