Chilean operator ClaroVTR has sold its Satellite TV business to TuVes, a Latin American wholesale and retail Satellite TV provider. The merger between VTR, owned by Liberty Latin America, and Claro Chile, owned by América Móvil, was approved in October 2022 by Chile’s Economic Regulatory Agency (FNE), subject to the sale of Claro’s Satellite TV (DTH) business. Though it was closed in late 2023, the transaction has just became publicly known as a result of a story published by Chilean newspaper La Tercera.
According to the latest report issued by Chile’s Telecommunications Bureau (Subtel), TuVes, a company linked to Argentine businessman Eduardo Stigol, accounted for 0.4% of the industry at the end of Q3 2023, with 11,000 users. On acquiring Claro DTH, it will add Claro DTH’s 169,000 users, which is equivalent to 5.4% of the Chilean market. The transaction was closed just before the expiration of the term fixed by FNE, which was December 31, 2023.
Following the approval of the merger in 2022, ClaroVTR was given a nine-month term to sell its Satellite TV business, which term was then extended by four months so that the companies could close the transaction. The amount of the deal has not been disclosed.