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Who Wants AT&T’s Mexico Business the Most? Follow the Signals, Not the Static
It’s official: AT&T (NYSE: T) is trying to call it quits in Mexico—and this time, it’s not just bad reception.
According to Bloomberg on August 7, 2025, the telecom giant is looking to sell its Mexican business and wants more than $2 billion for it. That’s less than the $4.4 billion it shelled out in 2014–2015 to cobble together the operation in the first place (via Grupo Iusacell and NII Holdings).
Call it strategic retrenchment, call it a long-distance breakup—but the real question is: who’s most likely to answer this call?
Let’s break it down.
Why AT&T Is Hanging Up on Mexico
AT&T’s Mexican venture never really rang the cash register. Despite massive infrastructure investment and decent subscriber growth, the unit has long underperformed. Blame it on:
- Cutthroat competition (more on Carlos Slim in a second),
- Lower ARPU (average revenue per user) than in the U.S.,
- And a peso that just won’t stop dancing to the beat of macro instability.
Selling the unit helps AT&T:
- Refocus on its core U.S. operations (especially fiber and 5G),
- Boost free cash flow to manage its still-heavy debt load,
- And finally get closure on one of the more “meh” chapters in its international expansion history.
Likely Buyer #1: América Móvil (Claro/Telcel)
If you’re thinking “Isn’t that Carlos Slim’s company?”—you’re exactly right. América Móvil is the dominant carrier in Mexico with over 60%+ market share.
Why they’d want it:
- Subscriber sweep: A takeover would instantly gobble up AT&T Mexico’s ~20M customers.
- Network synergies: Infrastructure overlap could lead to fat cost savings.
- Pricing power: Say hello to fewer competitors and fatter margins.
Why regulators might scream:
- This would be insanely anti-competitive. The Mexican telecom regulator (IFT) already keeps América Móvil on a tight leash. Adding AT&T’s assets would probably trigger a full-blown antitrust war.
Verdict: Wants it, can pay for it—but too dominant to pull it off cleanly. Think Slim pickings, not Slim approval.
Likely Buyer #2: Telefónica (Movistar Mexico)
Spain’s Telefónica has a solid foothold in Mexico—Movistar serves about 15% of the market. But it’s never quite cracked the duopoly held by América Móvil and AT&T.
Why they’d want it:
- Scale boost: An AT&T acquisition could double its market share.
- Cost synergies: Telefónica already piggybacks on AT&T’s network via a lease agreement. Owning the whole thing could slash costs.
- Pan-Latin growth: Telefónica has been refocusing on Spanish-speaking Latin America, and this deal fits the playbook.
Why it’s tricky:
- Telefónica has been deleveraging and spinning off infrastructure. Bidding over $2 billion may stretch its balance sheet.
Verdict: Wants it, needs it, but has to find the financing. If they can team up with a private equity partner or infrastructure fund, they’re in play.
Wild Card Buyer: A Private Equity Consortium
Let’s not rule out the KRRs, Apollos, and Brookfields of the world.
Why they’d want it:
- Predictable cash flows from telecom subscriptions.
- Asset monetization via tower sales or leasebacks.
- Potential to spin off consumer vs. B2B units or partner with local operators.
Why it could work:
- PE loves stable infrastructure with levers to pull—AT&T Mexico offers just that.
- AT&T could retain a minority stake, giving it a cleaner exit path without fully walking away.
Verdict: Quietly likeliest. Big PE has dry powder, a thirst for emerging market yield, and no regulatory baggage.
Who Should Buy It?
If regulators didn’t exist? América Móvil.
If we’re being strategic? Telefónica.
If we’re being realistic? Private equity, with Telefónica or another player riding shotgun.
This would let AT&T dump the operational burden, PE firms extract value, and strategic partners grow market share—without triggering Slim-sized antitrust alarms.
Final Signal: Why This Deal Matters
AT&T Mexico may not be the biggest business on the block, but it’s a litmus test for:
- How global telcos are rethinking expansion after a decade of overreach.
- Whether Latin America remains investable for infrastructure capital amid FX risk and political churn.
- And how PE continues to eat the world—one cell tower at a time.
As the sale process unfolds, keep your ear to the ground. Because in this market, who’s buying what—and why—says more about the next decade than the last one ever did.
DISCLAIMER: This analysis of the aforementioned stock security is in no way to be construed, understood, or seen as formal, professional, or any other form of investment advice. We are simply expressing our opinions regarding a publicly traded entity.
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