The short-lived merger talks between Liberty Latin America (LLA) and Millicom International Cellular (MIC) earlier this month were scrapped after MIC’s executive team expressed concerns over the low cash component of the USD7.6 billion bid – as well as LLA’s debt levels – sources familiar with the matter have told Bloomberg. The half-cash, half-stock offer would have valued MIC at around SEK710 (USD78.4) per share, the sources noted. The news agency adds that MIC’s leading shareholder, Stockholm-based Investment AB Kinnevik, was willing to support the proposal, but LLA was unable to convince MIC’s management team of the merits of the deal.
Founded in 1992, MIC is headquartered in Luxembourg, and currently operates ‘Tigo’-branded wireless providers in Latin America (Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Bolivia, Paraguay and Colombia) and Africa (Chad and Tanzania). Fixed line services, meanwhile, are offered in El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia and Panama. LLA was established in December 2017, following a ‘split-off’ from Liberty Global plc; it operates in more than 20 markets across Latin America and the Caribbean.
If combined, the two entities would have created a regional telecoms giant with operations spanning South America, Central America and the Caribbean.