If AT&T’s pending purchase of satellite broadcaster DirecTV closes, it’ll square off with longtime ally America Movil in Latin America’s pay-TV market. Observers also speculate that competition between AT&T (T) and America Movil (AMX) could heat up in the U.S. and Latin American wireless phone markets as well. AT&T, which late Sunday announced an agreement to buy DirecTV (DTV) for $48.5 billion, plans to sell its stake in America Movil to fund the
The sell-off in emerging market currencies on Friday drove down shares of Vodafone (VOD), Telefonica (TEF), America Movil (AMX), VimpelCom (VIP), satellite TV broadcaster DirecTV Group (DTV) and Latin American e-commerce firm MercadoLibre (MELI), as well as local telecom companies. DirecTV stock was down more than 2% in morning trading in the stock market today. DirecTV has a big Latin American business. U.S. shares of U.K.-based Vodafone also
Wireless service provider NII Holdings seems to be fighting a David-vs.-Goliath battle in Latin America. Or maybe not. By focusing on a niche high-end business customers NII (NIHD) has so far avoided a direct clash with two industry giants. With 7 million customers in Latin America, NII Holdings is dwarfed by No. 1 America Movil’s (AMX) 181 million and No. 2 Telefonica’s (TEF) 129 million. Still, NII Holdings claims an edge over those rivals: