Millicom Buys a Stake in Tigo Guatemala

Millicom has taken full ownership of its joint venture businesses in Guatemala (Tigo Guatemala), acquiring the remaining 45% equity interest from its local partner, Miffin Associates Corp, for $2.2 billion in cash.

The agreement was signed on Thursday 11 November and closed on 12 November. Millicom now owns a 100% equity interest in Tigo Guatemala. The deal is expected to increase the company’s equity free cash flow by approximately $200 million before incremental financing costs.

Mauricio Ramos, CEO of Millicom. Described the transaction as being “right in line with our stated inorganic capital allocation strategy, which includes the acquisition of the remaining minority interests owned by third parties in our operations, when those transactions can be executed in an accretive manner.”

Millicom was advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell and Consortium Legal.

The team from Consortium Legal comprised partners Sofía Escribá, Elias Arriaza, Mario Estuardo Archila Maldonado, Alfredo Rodriguez-Mahuad and Álvaro Castellanos Howell, and associates Roxana Sandoval Cristina Rodríguez Allen and Maria Alejandra Fuentes-Pieruccini.

Lawyer Monthly had the pleasure to speak with Sofía Escribá, Partner at Consortium Legal to give us some further insight into this transaction:

What can you tell us about Consortium Legal’s role in this transaction?

Consortium acted as local counsel to Millicom, the buyer, in this transaction. We worked together with Davis Polk & Wardwell as buyer’s counsel.

Did you face any challenges related to the acquisition? How did you overcome them?

This was a very complex transaction for a number of reasons. The transaction is one of the largest acquisitions in Guatemala and these kinds of transactions are always complex. Also, in terms of timing, this deal had to close within two to three weeks and since the acquisition was confidential, we had to work with small teams and thus we worked around the clock to be able to close in time.

What impact do you expect this acquisition to have on Millicom?

Through this acquisition Millicom owns 100% of the shares in Tigo Guatemala. This enables them to operate the business without minority shareholders, which allows for decisions to be taken in an expeditious manner.