Telefonica mulls further asset sales?

Spanish telecoms group Telefonica is considering a further round of asset sales as it struggles to cut its debt burden amid falling revenue and profit in its domestic market. Bloomberg cites people with knowledge of the matter as saying that the company’s Irish and Czech divisions are high on a list of potential businesses for sale. Other possibilities include Telefonica’s remaining 5% stake in China Unicom and assets in Central America, although no decision has been made and no banks have been hired, the unnamed sources said. Earlier this year Telefonica cancelled plans to sell a stake in its Latin American unit, notes TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database. Last year the Madrid-based firm listed around 23% of its German unit on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, raising around USD1.45 billion, and Telefonica Deutschland Holding is now planning to sell bonds in a move that would allow Telefonica to take advantage of Germany’s lower borrowing costs.