By Rogerio Jelmayer And Christopher Bjork
SÃO PAULO--Brazil's antitrust regulator approved, with some
conditions, Spanish telecom firm Telefónica SA's purchase of
Vivendi SA's Brazilian unit, GVT.
France's Vivendi agreed in September to sell GVT to Telefónica
for 7.24 billion euros ($7.9 billion).
The approval from CADE, as the agency is known, was the last
formal step for Telefónica to complete the purchase. Earlier this
month, the Spanish company received approval from Brazil's
telecommunications regulator, Anatel.
CADE conditioned its approval on the sale of Telefónica's 8.3%
stake in Telecom Italia SpA. The Spanish company must also sell
some debentures it holds in Telecom Italia.
Vivendi will have to sell its stake in Telefónica's Brazilian
unit, Telefónica Brasil SA, CADE said.
With the acquisition, Telefónica cements its position as the
dominant telecommunications firm in Latin America's biggest
economy, reinforcing its broadband Internet and fixed-line
telephone operations with GVT's assets.
Telefónica is paying Vivendi EUR4.66 billion in cash, which it
will raise with a capital increase at Telefónica Brasil.
The Madrid-based parent company, which owns 74% of its Brazilian
unit, will first raise EUR3 billion by issuing new shares
itself.
Vivendi is also receiving a stake in Telefónica Brasil and
shares in Telecom Italia SpA as part of the agreement.
Write to Rogerio Jelmayer at rogerio.jelmayer@wsj.com and
Christopher Bjork at christopher.bjork@wsj.com
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