—Ricardo B. Salinas maintains the dynamic businesses of Totalplay and Enlace—
—Will further boost the offer of world-class broadband Internet, telephony and pay television at the most competitive conditions, benefiting millions of users—
—The transaction is a vote of confidence of international investors regarding perspectives of the Mexican economy—
MEXICO CITY, Jan. 16, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grupo Salinas, a group of dynamic, fast-growing and technologically advanced companies, deeply committed to the modernization of the countries in which they operate, announced today that it completed the transaction in which Ricardo B. Salinas sold Grupo Iusacell to AT&T for US$2,500 million, including debt.
As was previously announced, Mr. Salinas will maintain the residential triple play business Totalplay, in addition to the corporate Internet, networks and fixed telephony operations of Enlace —previously subsidiaries of Grupo Iusacell— and will channel substantial resources to additionally boost its competitive position in these markets.
Thanks to its network of fiber direct to the home (FTTH), Totalplay has the most advanced broadband Internet platform in Latin America, with speed of up to 300 Megabytes per second, the most important offer of high definition channels, an extensive video on demand (VOD) catalog and voice telephony with outstanding clarity.
Totalplay has over 150,000 users, and provides its services in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Cuernavaca and Toluca. The growth of Totalplay is noteworthy, with dynamic expansion plans. The company doubled its number of subscribers over the past year, and expects to expand to 24 cities and 7.5 million households in the country over the next five years, compared to the current 1.5 million.
Enlace, meanwhile, provides Internet service with speeds of up to 10 Gigabytes per second, as well as fixed telephony and data services for networks to more than 20,000 customers nationwide, from small businesses to corporate and government clients; and effective video surveillance services through technologically advanced monitoring centers in several states of Mexico, with solid growth prospects.
Regarding the operations of Grupo Iusacell, Grupo Salinas considers that the proven leadership and world-class business strategy of AT&T will bring superior options in the telecommunications sector, and will positively impact the wellbeing of families, organizational efficiency and competitiveness of the country as a whole.
Grupo Salinas is convinced that the purchase by AT&T represents a vote of confidence regarding the economic future of Mexico, and it is a result of the economic reforms undertaken by the President of Mexico and approved by Congress, which motivate competition and generate investment opportunities for world-class companies.
About Grupo Salinas:
Grupo Salinas (www.gruposalinas.com) is a group of dynamic, fast growing, and technologically advanced companies focused on creating shareholder value, building the Mexican middle class, and improving society through excellence. Created by Mexican entrepreneur Ricardo B. Salinas (www.ricardosalinas.com), Grupo Salinas operates as a management development and decision forum for the top leaders of member companies. These companies include: Azteca (www.tvazteca.com.mx; www.irtvazteca.com), Azteca US (us.azteca.com), Grupo Elektra (www.grupoelektra.com.mx), Banco Azteca (www.bancoazteca.com.mx), Advance America (www.advanceamerica.net), Afore Azteca (www.aforeazteca.com.mx), Seguros Azteca (www.segurosazteca.com.mx), Totalplay (www.totalplay.com.mx) and Enlace (www.iusacellenlace.com.mx). Each of the Grupo Salinas companies operates independently, with its own management, board of directors and shareholders. Grupo Salinas has no equity holdings.