AT&T Closes Acquisition of Mexico Wireless Provider Iusacell
AT&T committed to bring greater competition to Mexico wireless market
- Combination to create first-ever North American Mobile Service area covering 400 million Mexico & U.S. consumers, businesses
- AT&T committed to expand and enhance Iusacell’s mobile Internet services
DALLAS, Jan. 16, 2015 — AT&T1 (NYSE:T) has closed its US$2.5 billion acquisition of Mexican wireless provider Iusacell from Grupo Salinas. AT&T acquired all of Iusacell’s wireless properties, including licenses, network assets, retail stores and approximately 9.2 million subscribers. The Iusacell wireless network currently covers about 70 percent of Mexico’s approximately 120 million citizens.
“The quick approval of this deal is one more example of why Mexico is an attractive place to invest,” said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO. “We look forward to bringing more wireless competition to Mexico along with an improved mobile Internet experience for customers. Expanding and enhancing Iusacell’s mobile network to cover millions of additional consumers and businesses is our top priority.”
With its acquisition of Iusacell, AT&T plans to create the first-ever North American Mobile Service area covering more than 400 million consumers and businesses in Mexico and the United States. “It won’t matter which country you’re in or which country you’re calling – it will all be one network, one customer experience,” said Stephenson.
AT&T has the United States’ most reliable 4G LTE network with the strongest LTE signal of any U.S. provider,2 and it intends to bring those same network strengths to Mexico. The company’s investments in Mexico — where smartphone penetration is about half that of the United States — will help it address increasing demand for high-speed mobile Internet services in Mexico. AT&T sees a significant opportunity to increase smartphone adoption and mobile Internet usage in Mexico.
AT&T said Iusacell represents a natural geographic expansion of its wireless footprint in a country with a growing economy that is interconnected with the U.S. economy. Mexico has a rapidly growing middle class, and the second-largest economy and one of the highest per capita GDPs in Latin America. AT&T also said that Iusacell is a good long-term growth opportunity, with manageable near-term cash flow and capital expenditure requirements. The company expects synergies from customer additions, economies of scale and sharing of best practices.
Iusacell will continue to be headquartered in Mexico City. AT&T has identified a team, to be based in Mexico City, to oversee the Iusacell integration effort.
As previously discussed, Grupo Salinas has retained ownership and control of Iusacell’s Total Play businesses.
1AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
2Claim basis: Nationwide carriers’ LTE. Signal strength claim based ONLY on avg. LTE signal strength. LTE not avail. everywhere.
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AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) helps millions of people and businesses around the globe stay connected through leading wireless, high-speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. We’re helping people mobilize their worlds with state-of-the-art communications, entertainment services and amazing innovations like connected cars and devices for homes, offices and points in between. Our U.S. wireless network offers customers the nation’s strongest LTE signal and the nation’s most reliable 4G LTE network. We offer the best global wireless coverage. We’re improving how our customers stay entertained and informed with AT&T U-verse® TV and High Speed Internet services. And businesses worldwide are serving their customers better with AT&T’s mobility and highly secure cloud solutions.
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Global coverage claim based on offering voice and data roaming in more countries than any other U.S. based carrier, and offering the most wireless smartphones and tablets that work in the most countries.
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