Telefonica denies plans to sell Colombian arm

Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica has said that it is not looking to sell its Colombian arm, Movistar Colombia following reports that the company was planning a partial listing of the business as part of its debt reduction measures. Reuters writes that officials denied the speculation quoting Telefonica CFO Angel Vila as saying: ‘In Colombia, I want to stress that we are not sellers.’ The company is involved in talks with the government regarding ways to capitalise the business and increase liquidity. Bogota owns a 30% share in the full service provider following a restructuring of the telco in May 2012 that combined Telefonica’s wholly-owned wireless subsidiary Telefonica Moviles Colombia with fixed line operator and 50/50 joint venture Telefonica Telecom.