AT&T Seeks Over $2 Billion For Mexico Unit After A Decade Of Trying To Compete With Carlos Slim's Telcel: Report

AT&T Inc. (T) is reportedly seeking more than $2 billion for its Mexico mobile unit, although the discussions are still ongoing and the carrier has not made a final decision yet.

The plan to exit the Mexican market comes a decade after AT&T tried to compete with Carlos Slim-controlled America Movil SAB group’s carrier, Telcel, according to a report by Bloomberg.

AT&T’s shares traded 0.6% higher at the time of writing. Stocktwits data showed the retail sentiment around the company was in the ‘neutral’ territory.

Telcel dominates the Mexican telecommunications market, and it’s not clear if AT&T, also known as Ma Bell, will be able to find a buyer for its unit, the report added. The Dallas, Texas-based telecom giant entered the Mexican market in 2014 with the acquisition of Grupo Iusacell SA from Ricardo Salinas for $2.5 billion.

Subsequently, AT&T acquired NII Holdings Inc.’s wireless operations in the country for $1.9 billion. Over the past decade, Ma Bell made a total investment of $10 billion in Mexico, according to the report, but that did not help the company compete well enough with Telcel.

The report added that AT&T is not alone in trying to exit the Mexican market–Spain-based Telefonica SA is also reportedly working on offloading its Mexican unit.

AT&T’s stock is up 21% year-to-date and 44% over the past 12 months.

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