Virgin Mobile Latin America (VMLA) has raised USD86 million in equity capital funding, with Singapore’s Temasek Holdings as the lead investor. VMLA – whose shareholders include Richard Branson’s Virgin Group – said the new round of funding will be supported by an expanded debt facility of USD41.5 million. A company statement read: ‘The proceeds of these financings will be used to launch the Virgin Mobile brand in Mexico in 2014 and Brazil in 2015, and to fund further growth and expansion opportunities as they arise in the region, including the company’s existing operations in Chile and Colombia.’
With reference to the Chilean and Colombian units, Peter Macnee, VMLA CEO, commented: ‘The company is adding well over 100,000 new subscribers per month and will soon reach one million active customers in the region. This accelerating growth rate is testimony to the dedicated and creative work of our teams in Santiago and Bogota, as well as, the power of the Virgin Mobile brand’. VMLA was founded in 2010 to offer new products and services to countries in Latin America under the Virgin Mobile brand.