Telecom-Telmex deal postponed

Colombia Telecom has postponed the signing of last Friday’s memorandum of understanding (MOU), under which Mexico’s Telmex agreed to purchase 50% plus one share of the state-run telco, according to BNamericas. Telecom and Telmex said they planned to sign the MOU by the end of today to allow five working days for other companies to submit alternative proposals. The delay gives local telcos EPM and ETB more time to prepare their own proposal to become Telecom’s partner. Initially, both operators were reported to be in talks with Spain’s Telefónica to present a combined proposal, but ETB is also studying whether to launch a bid by itself.