TEF Buying at the top AGAIN?
* TEF was an aggressive buyer in the early '90s then lost nearly 70% of the value of its Latin holdings (Spain considers Latin America its corporate 'manifest destiny' IMTO)
Telefonica, BellSouth in $5.85 Bln Deal
March 8, 9:15 am ET By Elisabeth O'Leary and Robert Hetz
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's top carrier Telefonica on Monday secured a $5.85 billion cash and debt deal to buy the Latin American assets of U.S. carrier BellSouth to become the leading mobile phone operator in the booming region.
Confirming a Reuters report from Friday, Telefonica said buying BellSouth out of Latin America would boost mobile subscribers in the region to 40.5 million, allowing it to leapfrog market leader America Movil, owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, the region's wealthiest tycoon.