Spanish telecommunications giant Telefónica announced on April 13 the closing of the agreement to sell its Peruvian subsidiary, which provides Pay TV, Internet and phone services under the Movistar brand. The purchasing company is Integra Tec International, which is controlled by holding Integra Capital owned by Argentine businessman José Luis Manzano.
In spite of its leadership in the Peruvian market. Telefónica del Perú is undergoing a serious financial crisis. In fact, it has initiated reorganization proceedings (Procedimiento Concursal Ordinario) before Peru’s National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi) with the aim of restructuring its debt. That is the reason why the amount of the transaction was only PEN 3.7 million (approximately USD 990,000).
According to Telefónica, “the reorganization proceedings will be conducted pursuant to the legislation in force. The transaction gurantees that the service will be maintained for over 13 million Peruvian people living in urban and rural areas.”
Integra Capital, an investment group owned by José Luis Manzano, has a portfolio of companies across a diversity of industries, such as energy (it owns Argentina’s Edenor), chemistry, natural resources, education, building, wine production and communication media (it owns Argentina’s Grupo América, which in turn owns Free to Air channel América TV, several Free to Air channels in Argentine provinces, Pay TV news channel A24, as well as some important radio stations). In the telecommunications sector, Manzano used to have some connection with Argentine operator Supercable (currently Super), which was owned by his partner Daniel Vila.
In the press release, Telefónica del Perú announced that the new Chairman of the Board of Directors would be Germán Ranftl, an Argentinian who holds the position of Finance Director at Edenor and is in charge of the financial area at Integra Capital.
According to the press release, “the new shareholder’s objectives are to maintain and expand service, to restructure the company’s debt within the framework of the reorganization process, as well as to establish a sustainable business plan with a solid capital structure. Integra Tec intends to work amicably with creditors, suppliers, employees, the government of Peru, and all parties related to Telefónica del Perú.”
