Amnet provides broadband and cable television services in Costa Rica, Honduras and El Salvador, fixed telephony in El Salvador and Honduras, and corporate data services in the above countries as well as in Guatemala and Nicaragua.
Millicom, which has recently launched 3G services in Guatemala, Honduras and Bolivia, expects to accelerate its broadband offering across the Central American region with the acquisition of Amnet.
Formed in 1990, Millicom provides prepaid cellular telephony services in 16 emerging markets in Latin America, Africa and Asia. The company has earned a net profit of $290 million in the first half of 2008 – up 54% from $188 million in the corresponding period in 2007.
Millicom has received the requisite regulatory approval for the acquisition and has recently received $200 million in acquisition financing from two commercial banks to fund part of the acquisition price. The acquisition financing is for an initial term of 12 months after which it is intended to be refinanced by a long-term bond or syndicated bank facility.
Marc Beuls, president and CEO of Millicom, said: Amnet meets Millicom’s strict requirements for returns on all new investment by providing excellent growth potential aligned with strong margins and good cashflow conversion. The combination of Amnet and the recent launch of 3G will allow us to play a major role in the development of broadband across Central America.
