Wireless Federation

Portugal Telecom acquires 25.3% stake in Brazil’s Oi

On 03.30.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Portugal Telecom has acquired 25.3% of Brazilian carrier Telemar Norte Leste SA (Oi) for $5 billion claiming a bigger stake than Portugal’s largest phone company had originally planned to buy.

According to Portugal Telecom, the stake was built through direct investments in the company and indirect positions in its biggest shareholders. The acquisition includes 25.6% of Telemar Participacoes SA, the group that controls the Brazilian phone carrier.

Portugal Telecom is investing in Oi to tap growing demand for mobile-phone and Internet service in Brazil. The Portuguese carrier announced its plans in July to buy a stake in Oi after selling its half of Vivo Participacoes SA, Brazil’s largest mobile-phone company.

Under the agreement, Oi plans to purchase a stake of as much as 10 percent of Portugal Telecom. Oi is Brazil’s largest fixed-line phone company and its fourth-biggest mobile- phone carrier.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Brazil • Oi • operator • Portugal • Portugal Telecom • Telemar Norte Leste SA

Oi to begin LTE tests in Brazil

On 03.21.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Oi, Brazilian mobile network has reported four companies that will participate in its LTE trials in the country – Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei, ZTE and Nokia Siemens Networks.

According to reports, there is a market expectation that the first LTE networks will come into operation before the 2014 World Cup.

Oi will be conducting the trials both in laboratory conditions and in live networks in several – still to be determined – cities. The exact deployment for each of the infrastructure suppliers is still being finalized.

The regulator is expected to grant a temporary license covering the 2.5 GHz bands for the tests.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Alcatel-Lucent • Brazil • Huawei • LTE Tests • Nokia Siemens Networks • Oi • operator • World Cup • ZTE

Brazil’s Oi owns 3% stake in Portugal Telecom

On 03.16.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Portugal Telecom has revealed that Brazilian peer Tele Norte Leste Participacoes SA (Oi) currently owns 3% of its share capital.

According to Portugal Telecom, the transaction was part of a deal between Oi and Barclays PLC under which the bank would transfer close to 27 million shares to the Brazilian company until April 4.

According to Portuguese market rules, a company must disclose its stake in another entity when it reaches the 2% threshold.

In January, PT finalized a deal worth US$5 billion, which will see Oi acquiring up to 10% of the Portuguese telecom. According to the deal, which is expected to be completed in March, PT will own at least 22.38% of Oi, as well as a 12.1% stake in Telemar Participacoes, Oi’s holding company.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Barclays PLC • Brazil • Mobile • Oi • Portugal • Portugal Telecom • PT • Tele Norte Leste Participacoes S/A • Telemar Participacoes

PT acquires 22% stake in Oi (Portugal)

On 02.04.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Portugal Telecom (PT) has announced that it has bought more than 22% stake in Brazilian telecommunications company Oi for US$4.99 billion.

According to PT, the deal also involved the fusion of the two companies’ call centres in Brazil. Oi also planned to purchase a stake of up to 10% in the Portuguese firm. PT recently sold its share in Brazilian cell phone operator Vivo to Spain’s Telef³nica.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Brazil • Brazilian telecommunications company • call centres • Mobile • Oi • Portugal • Portugal Telecom (PT) • Spain • Telefonica • Vivo

Portugal Telecom acquires $5 Billion stake in Oi of Brazil

On 01.28.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Portugal Telecom has announced that it had inked a deal to take a 22.38% stake in the Brazilian telecommunications company Telemar Norte Leste, also known as Oi.

The stake represents $5 billion in cash and awards Portugal Telecom significant corporate governance rights over the Brazilian company.

A deliberate partnership between the two companies reveals Portugal Telecom’s continued interest in the Brazilian market even after it sold its 50% stake in the Cellphone operator Vivo to Telef³nica of Spain in July.

As per the terms of its investment, Portugal Telecom can nominate one member and one alternate member to the board at the Oi subsidiary, TmarPart, as well as two members and two alternate members to the board of TNL.

The stake will also give Portugal Telecom a say in the nomination process for the chief executive of Oi.

According to Portugal Telecom, it hoped to contribute significantly to the improvement of Oi’s performance, citing its successful experience in fixed-to-mobile convergence, mobile broadband and pay TV, as ways it might do this.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Brazil • fixed-to-mobile convergence • Mobile • Mobile broadband • Oi • Pay-TV • Portugal • Portugal Telecom • Spain • Telefonica • Telemar Norte Leste • TmarPart • TNL • Vivo

Six submit bids for Brazil’s H Band auction

On 12.13.10, In Mobile, By Editor

Anatel, Brazil’s national telecoms regulator has revealed that six groups have submitted proposals to bid for the country’s final 3G mobile frequencies the so-called H Band.

The six are domestic operators Vivo, Claro, TIM Brasil, Oi, Nextel and CTBC. The regulator has set up a Special Licensing Committee (CEL) which will assess the applications on 14 December. The H Band auction comprises 165 lots of spectrum with a minimum price of US$649 million, and US$410.31 million for leftover spectrum.

According to reports, at this stage though, only Nextel fulfils the basic stated requirement of the H Band auction i.e. as an iDEN digital trunking operator it will be classed as a new entrant in the GSM/W-CDMA market. As such, if it bids for the new licence it is understood that four GSM operators (Vivo, Claro, TIM Brasil and Oi) will be restricted to bidding for the frequencies as extension bands. If Nextel and CTBC fails to express an interest in the H Band, the other operators will be allowed to compete.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: 3G • Anatel • Brazil • CEL • Claro • CTBC • GSM • H Band • Mobile • NEXTEL • Oi • TIM Brasil • Vivo • W-CDMA

Anatel leads with H Band mobile auction (Brazil)

On 12.07.10, In Mobile, By Editor

Anatel, Brazil’s telecoms regulator has reportedly rejected petitions to permit existing mobile operators to participate in the upcoming auction of H Band 3G mobile spectrum.

Earlier this year, Telemar Norte Leste (Telemar, or Oi) and SindiTelebrasil, an association representing local telephony companies, each submitted petitions to block the forthcoming auction of the H Band spectrum.

According to reports, with Anatel looking to start the tender to allocate the country’s last planned award of frequencies for 3G mobile services on 14 December, the two parties cried foul at the watchdog’s decision to prevent current operators Oi, TIM Brasil, Vivo Participacoes and Telecom Americas (Claro) from participating, saying it had failed to justify the reasons for their exclusion.

In their appeals, SindiTelebrasil and Oi argued Anatel was acting as a bar to competition and hampering the rapid launch of 3G services.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: 3G • Anatel • Brazil • Claro • H Band • Mobile • mobile auction • Oi • SindiTelebrasil • Telemar • Telemar Norte Leste • Vivo Participacoes

Portugal Telecom expects to close Oi deal by March 2011

On 11.18.10, In Mobile, By Editor

The Chief Executive of Portugal Telecom, Zeinal Bava believes that Portugal Telecom (PT) can seal its deal with the Brazilian telecommunications group Oi (Tele Norte Leste Participa§µes) before the end of March 2011.

According to Bava, negotiations are progressing very well. The company is confident that it will get all deals done by the end of March, if not sooner… maybe even February.

Oi and Portugal Telecom at the end of October extended the deadline for negotiations over their future partnership until Jan. 31, 2011. Brazil’s telecommunications regulator, Anatel, has approved Portugal Telecom’s plan to take a stake in Oi but the two groups are now finalizing the terms and conditions of their industrial alliance.

As per the CEO, it is too early to give details on plans it has for Oi until the deal is signed. The company will leverage their know-how and their partner’s knowledge to do a better job in the future.

The PT is also interested in acquisitions in Africa, but will consider any opportunity carefully, explained the executive.

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Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Africa • Anatel • Brazil • Brazilian telecommunications group • CEO Zeinal Bava • Mobile • Oi • Portugal • Portugal Telecom (PT) • Tele Norte Leste ParticipaÃ§Ãµes • telecommunications regulator

Portugal Tel 3Q Net Profit Soars On Vivo; To Pay Extra Dividend

On 11.03.10, In Mobile, By Editor

Portugal Telecom SGPS SA (PT) Wednesday said third-quarter net profit soared almost fifty-fold to EUR5.35 billion, bolstered by the proceeds from the sale of its stake in Brazilian mobile company Vivo Participacoes SA (VIV), and announced an extraordinary EUR1.65-a-share dividend.

PT, Portugal’s biggest telecommunications company by market capitalization, said it plans to pay an ordinary dividend of EUR0.65 per share on this year’s earnings, in addition to the extraordinary dividend, and another EUR0.65-a-share dividend on next year’s earnings, as Vivo’s proceeds boosts its coffers. Last year, third-quarter net profit stood at EUR116.1 million.

PT sold its stake in Vivo in September for EUR7.5 billion and used roughly half of the funds to buy a stake in Brazilian telecommunications company Oi (TMAR5.BR).

Third-quarter operating revenue rose 0.7% to EUR952.2 million, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, dropped 4.1% to EUR381.9 million.

PT, like other European telecommunication companies, is facing stagnant revenue in its home market as customers scale back on spending and migrates to low-cost operators. Portugal, along with many of its peers in Southern Europe, has been hit especially hard by lower consumer spending that has forced companies to cut tariffs.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Brazil • EBITDA • European telecommunication companies • Extra Dividend • Mobile • Net Profit • Oi • Portugal • Portugal Tel • PT • razilian telecommunications company • VIV • Vivo

Antel approves Portugal Telecom to take a stake in Oi (Brazil)

On 10.30.10, In Mobile, By Editor

Brazil’s telecommunications regulator has approved Portugal Telecom’s plan to acquire a stake in Brazil’s Oi (Tele Norte Leste Participacoes S/A) although it said the Brazilian phone company must first clear its debts with the government.

According to Anatel’s director, Joao Rezende, there is no concentration of ownership, nor any impeditive of a competitive nature.

According to Anatel, the company owes the government US$44 million related to the Telecommunications Fiscalization Fund, or Fistel. According to Rezende, the companies will only be able to implement the operation after paying off the debts.

Portugal Telecom is planning to pay up to US$4.9 billion for a stake in the Oi group, while at the same time Oi is planning a US$7.03 billion share issuance to raise fresh capital.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Antel • Brazil • Fistel • Mobile • Oi • Portugal • Portugal Telecom • Tele Norte Leste Participacoes S/A • telecommunications regulator