Telefonica and Portugal Telecom are not the only major carriers interested in the ever-growing mobile market of Brazil. Vodafone wants a piece of the action too, and apparently they have hired advisors to explore a possible acquisition of stake in TIM Brasil, Telecom Italia’s Brazilian unit.
According to local newspaper, O Estado de Sao Paulo, the Big Red has held talks with Telefonica, which holds an indirect stake in Telecom Italia. The Spanish group has a 42.3% stake in Telco, the consortium that controls 24.5% of Telecom Italia.
At the moment, Telefonica is in the process of taking full control of Vivo, and it already owns a piece of TIM Brasil. The local regulator is expected to force it to dispose of its stake in Telecom Italia to avoid a possible conflict of interest. And that’s the stake Vodafone would like to have — at least that’s what the rumors say.
Unsurprisingly, neither Vodafone nor Telefonica have commented on the reports, so we’ll have to wait for few more days (or maybe weeks) to get a better picture.
One thing is clear, Brazil is a hot market with potential for growth and Vodafone (and other major operators for that matter) sees it as an opportunity…
[Via: MobileBusinessBriefing]