Source: FactSet Flashwire
 
Telecom Americas, a subsidiary of America Movil SA, acquired BCP SA from BellSouth Corp and Verbier, a unit of Grupo Safra SA, for $625 million in stock and debt, in a move to increase its presence in Brazil. BCP SA was 45.4% held by BellSouth and Verbier held the remaining 54.6% interest.
 
This acquisition was carried out in two phases. First, Verbier and BellSouth transferred the ownership of BCP to a group of 34 creditors, who in turn sold BCP to America Movil. This deal follows a restructuring plan announced in April of 2003 whereby BellSouth and Verbier announced they would relinquish control of the bankrupt company. In addition, the deal includes an agreement with Tele Norte Leste Participacoes SA, or Telemar, giving it an option to acquire a stake in BCP. America Movil has operations in Mexico, Brazil, Columbia, Guatemala, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and the US. BCP has 1.7 million clients.The financial advisors in the deal include: Citigroup Global Markets for America Movil SA, Credit Suisse First Boston for BCP SA, Merrill Lynch & Co for BCP SA, Miller Buckfire Lewis Ying & Co for BCP SA, Morgan Stanley for America Movil SA, Rio Bravo Investimentos for BCP SA. The legal advisors in the deal include: Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton for America Movil SA, Shearman & Sterling LLP for Grupo Safra SA.