Liberty Latin America buys Cabletica
Details
Juan Fernandez Gonzalez
| 14 February 2018
| 14 February 2018

The newly-created Latin American division of Liberty Group has closed its first financial operation, acquiring an 80% controlling stake of Cabletica.

The deal inked with Televisora de Costa Rica, the owner of the cable TV operator, has valued Cabletica at nearly $250 million. Under the terms of the agreement, the current owner will retain the remaining 20%.

The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, is expected to close during the second half of 2018.

“The acquisition of a leading cable operator in Costa Rica is an exciting move as it adds further scale to our growing platform and diversifies us into one of the region’s most attractive markets,” said Balan Nair, president and CEO of Liberty Latin America. “This transaction is a prime example of our consolidation ambitions, leveraging our unique subsea and terrestrial footprint in a region that remains highly fragmented and continues to be both underpenetrated and underserved by high-speed data services.”

Cabletica is one of the main cable TV providers in Costa Rica, in a market lead by Millicom’s Tigo. The satellite TV market is dominated by Claro and Sky, and has just seen the arrival of Telefónica’s Movistar TV. As of Q3 2017, the hybrid fibre-coaxial network of Cabletica passed approximately 562,000 homes, nearly 40% of the country’s households.

“We are delighted to enter into this agreement and look forward to a long and successful partnership with Liberty Latin America that will deliver many benefits for both our customers and employees. We also look forward to further developing the strong content alliance between Cabletica and Televisora and have extended the carriage of exclusive local sports channels TD+ and TD+2 as part of the transaction,” added René Picado, president of Televisora.