Colombia Movil (TIGO)

active

In August 2006, Millicom International Cellular SA won the bid to acquire 50% and one controlling share of Colombia Movil SA ESP for US $124 million. Colombia Movil had a mobile telephone license that covered all of Colombia and had 2,120,000 users at the end of 2006. It acquired its license in 2003 for a period of ten years and competed under the brand name Ola. State owned enterprises EPM Telecomunicaciones S.A. ESP, and Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogota ETB, controlled by the municipalities of Medellin and Bogota, organized a competitive bid for the shares. Three final bids were submitted. After the auction, EPM and ETB each retained 24.99% of the remaining shares of Colombia Movil SA ESP. Financial closure was reached in October 2006, when the shares were purchased and Colombia Movil SA ESP was consolidated as a subsidiary of Millicom. As the controlling shareholder, Millicom International Cellular SA was the operator of Colombia Movil SA ESP. Financing for the share purchase was provided by another wholly owned subsidiary of Millicom in Latin America who acquired a new debt for the purchase. Colombia Movil SA ESP was the third largest carrier and had approximately 9% of the Colombian mobile telephone market. It competed with Telefonica (25%) and America Movil (65%) in 2006. In August 2014, Millicom announced the merger of Colombia Movil with UNE, a fixed-line telecom company owned by the state-owned Empresas Publicas de Medellin. The consumer base was expected to increase to 8.4 million customers with the merger. 2011 596.5 total capex - 44 million, payment for spectrum = 552.5 inv commitment in facilities