By Cassandra Garrison
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MEXICO CITY: Mexican telecoms firm America Movil<\/a>, controlled by the family of billionaire Carlos Slim, said Wednesday it would combine its Chilean operations with Liberty Latin America<\/a> in a joint venture, lifting their shares as markets saw hints of 5G progress.
The transaction combines the complementary operations of Claro Chile<\/a>, the Chilean subsidiary of America Movil, and VTR, Liberty Latin America's provider of high-speed products like broadband and Pay TV<\/a>, the companies said in a joint statement.
The joint venture \"will enable significant investment for fixed fiber footprint expansion and to be at the forefront of 5G mobile delivery,\" it said.
America Movil's shares gained more than 1.7% after the announcement before paring gains, while Liberty Latin America rose 3.2%.
Analysts saw the deal as beneficial for America Movil.
\"In our opinion the transaction is positive given that this alliance will serve for the deployment of investments involving FTTH<\/a> (Fiber to the Home) and 5G, in a market that is particularly competitive,\" Mexico's Banorte said in a note.
America Movil said in February that Mexico, its core market, would have 5G options by the end of the year.
The transaction excludes all telecommunication towers owned indirectly by America Movil in Chile, the statement said.
America Movil is planning to spinoff some of its nearly 37,000 Latin American towers into a new company. The proposal is due to be presented to shareholders later on Wednesday.
America Movil and Liberty Latin America said the new venture was expected to generate estimated run-rate synergies of more than $180 million, with 80% expected within three years of completion.
Liberty will contribute net debt of 1.095 billion Chilean pesos ($1.5 billion) and America Movil with 259 billion Chilean pesos ($0.4 billion). Liberty will make a balancing payment to America Movil of 73 billion Chilean pesos ($0.1 billion).
The closing is expected to be complete by the second half of 2022, the statement said. Leadership of the new joint venture will be agreed prior to closing.
A spokesman for America Movil declined to comment further on the deal.
The companies will need to seek regulatory approvals for the joint venture.
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