Ola Set to Be Sold Thursday

Colombian municipally owned telcos ETB and EPM are due to auction off 50% and one share of Ola in a sale scheduled for 2pm Thursday afternoon (Aug 31), Ola spokesperson Leyla Ponce confirmed to BNamericas.

ETB and EPM aim to find a partner willing to provide an injection of capital following Ola's cash depleting 2005 infrastructure expansion. The telcos are also seeking to relinquish control of Ola to the winning bidder.

Competing to be Ola's new strategic partner are Caribbean mobile group Digicel and European mobile holding company Millicom International Cellular. Chilean mobile operator Entel PCS originally showed interest but opted out of the bidding.

"There is a minimum price that will be made known tomorrow [Thursday], and at two in the afternoon the interested parties will turn in envelopes with their offers," Ponce said.

Ola is the third largest mobile operator in Colombia with 2.3 million subscribers, after Comcel, the local unit of Mexico's América Móvil, and Movistar Colombia, owned by Spain's Telefónica Móviles.

The successful bidder would add another country to their worldwide operational portfolios. Millicom currently boasts operations in 16 countries including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Bolivia and Paraguay.

Digicel has a limited presence in South America having recently launched in French Guiana and obtained a license to operate in Guyana. Most of its focus is in the Caribbean. It also has an office in El Salvador.

BNAmericas.com"

Posted to the site on 31st August 2006