Colombia’s Superintendency of Companies (Superintendencia de Sociedades, Supersociedades) has approved the ten-year reorganisation plan proposed by domestic iDEN/LTE operator Avantel, thus allowing the company to restructure its liabilities while continuing to maintain its operations. As a result of the agreement, Avantel says it will be able to preserve 400 direct jobs.
Supersociedades adds that the public hearing – which took place between 21 and 23 September – also considered the ‘capitalisation and merger by absorption’ between Avantel and Partners Telecom Colombia. The watchdog notes that Partners has assumed Avantel’s liabilities, and therefore the responsibility for compliance with the agreement.
As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, in July 2020 Icelandic-owned, UK-based private equity firm Novator Partners acquired an unspecified majority stake in Avantel. Via Partners, Novator had previously acquired spectrum in the 700MHz and 2500MHz band at auction, with a view to launching a commercial mobile network by the second quarter of 2021.