Rumours that Nextel Argentina is on the brink of being sold have resurfaced, with local media outlets reporting that a couple of private equity firms will broker a deal for the troubled telco in a matter of weeks.
Optimum Capital and Kingsley Capital will buy the mobile operator for an undisclosed amount, Argentine newspaper El Cronista reported late last week.
The deal will be agreed next month, the paper said.
Nextel Argentina has been on the block for some time. In June last year there were reports that Argentine businessmen Sergio Szpolski and Matías Garfunkel would make an offer, but no deal materialised. However, in August sister company Nextel Chile was sold to investment vehicle Fucata, which included Szpolski and Garfunkel’s media company Grupo Veintitrés.
NII Holdings, operator of the Nextel brand, entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection the following month and reached a restructuring deal with creditors in November.
According to El Cronista, Nextel Argentina’s new suitors are separately negotiating with the government to buy 3G and 4G mobile spectrum.
