News
Spanish telco looking to reduce debt burden by selling off free-to-air broadcaster Telefe.
Telefonica is working on the sale of its Telefe business in Argentina, it emerged this week.
The Spain-based telco, which has a strong presence in the telecoms space in Latin America, has compiled sales materials for the TV station and has made contact with potential buyers, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
One of the sources named Time Warner’s Turner unit as a possible buyer, but noted that Telefonica has not yet received any concrete offers for the business.
Telefonica does not consider Telefe to be a core asset, the report said, and is therefore considering a sale as part of its push to raise funds to pay down debt.
Telefe, or Television Federal, is the largest broadcaster in Argentina by audience and one of the biggest content producers in the wider Latin American region, Bloomberg said. It is the only free-to-air broadcaster Telefonica owns and has been part of the Spanish firm’s portfolio since 1998.
Quoting a report that appeared in local newspaper Diario earlier this year, Bloomberg said Turner values Telefe at around $400 million.
