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Mexican operator to pay US$1.1 million, agrees to new compliance plan.
America Movil has reached an agreement with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to settle what the regulator describes as "repeated violations" of foreign ownership limits at its Puerto Rican operation.
The Mexican operator will pay the FCC US$1.1 million following an investigation by its Enforcement Bureau into the ownership structure of Puerto Rico Telephone Company (PRTC), the U.S. regulator announced on Tuesday.
PRTC, which operates in Puerto Rico under the Claro brand, is licensed by the FCC.
The violations appear to relate primarily to the Slim family’s ownership of America Movil, rather than the telco’s ownership of PRTC. America Movil owns 100% of PRTC.
"This is the largest fine for a violation of foreign ownership and control limits because of the Slim family’s repeated violations," Enforcement Bureau chief Travis LeBlanc said.
PRTC and America Movil exceeded foreign ownership limits three times in five years, most recently in June 2014 when the Slim family upped its stake in America Movil by buying shares from AT&T.
The U.S. telco sold its 8.27% stake in America Movil to Carlos Slim-controlled entities for $5.57 billion as part of its quest to gain regulatory approval for its DirecTV acquisition.
As a knock-on effect, that share purchase increased the Slim family’s ownership of PRTC beyond the voting and equity limits the regulator had set at the time, the FCC said, without disclosing the level of ownership in question.
Under the terms of the deal agreed with FCC this week, PRTC and America Movil have agreed to adopt certain compliance plans to prevent the Slim family making future stock purchases that would exceed foreign ownership limits without first clearing their plans with the regulator. They are required to appoint specific compliance officers and report regularly on compliance, the FCC said.
