By Bnamericas
Chilean competition watchdog FNE approved a ClaroVTR request to extend the deadline for divesting its satellite television (DTH) business.
FNE acceded to the request because some assets that are part of the divestment package “did not constitute an independent company, with individual financial statements, at the time they were separated from Claro Chile’s DTH business. Therefore, its due and orderly separation occupied a relevant period of the divestment period.”
In addition, Claro needed time to organize the business, hire staff and achieve “an attractive package for potential buyers,” FNE said in the decision.
Claro claimed the first independent financial statements, which serve as the basis to value the DTH unit, were only available from March.
The original deadline was nine months, starting October 2022, but FNE did not disclose the duration of the new one.
Claro’s satellite business is currently being operated by a trustee. Claro DTH has 5.6 per cent of the pay-TV market, according to the data from regulator Subtel.
VTR and Claro’s wireline services represent 27.8 per cent and 3.8 per cent, respectively, while Telefónica holds 21.4 per cent, DirecTV 19.4 per cent and Mundo Pacífico 11 per cent.
ClaroVTR, a mixed company of América Móvil and Liberty Latin America, has been operating for nearly nine months. It recently announced an investment of US$400mn to improve and extend its fixed and mobile networks.
