America Movil eyes Colombia network purchase

America Movil is weighing a purchase of Colombian telecom assets from Grupo Salinas as it looks to deepen its footprint in Latin America.

The company’s local unit, Claro, has filed a pre-evaluation request with Colombia’s antitrust regulator, SIC, to study a possible deal for Azteca Comunicaciones, an infrastructure provider that runs high-capacity fibre networks. America Movil said the interest is mainly about operational synergies that could keep the network stable and maintained, noting the infrastructure is vulnerable to failures that hurt service quality. It also called the asset commercially unattractive, but important for keeping connectivity in areas with no other network options.

America Movil recently told investors it is actively looking for acquisitions as Latin America’s telecom market reshapes. Telefonica has been selling operations across the region, including in Ecuador, Uruguay, Peru, Argentina and Chile. America Movil was previously linked with a potential move for Telefonica’s Chile business, which ultimately went to Millicom and NJJ Holding.