Paraguay. Only the approval of the regulatory entities, including the National Telecommunications Commission, Conatel, is missing so that the Argentine group Clarín can close the sale business of its cable television operator in Paraguay to the Swedish company Millicom, through its subsidiary in Latin America Tigo.
The business, valued at about US$150 million, means the divestment of the Argentine group in Cablevisión, an operator that currently has 120,000 users subscribed to its television service and 12,000 affiliates to internet services.
According to the Clarín group, 30% of Cablevisión Paraguay is owned by minority partners, the same ones who agreed with the buying company to sell at the time that the transaction of the majority partner for 70% of the company becomes effective.
As explained by the manager of institutional relations of Tigo, Carlos Díaz, what there is is a macro agreement to buy 100% of Cablevisión Paraguay once they have all the required licenses. He added that the company has operations in 13 countries in Latin America, Central America and Africa.
The transaction also includes the Unicanal and Teledeportes channels. The latter is 100% owned by the Clarín group and has the broadcasting rights of the Paraguayan professional football tournament.
The authorization by the National Telecommunications Commission, Conatel, as well as other Paraguayan regulatory entities, is expected to be ready no later than the end of this year.
