Mexico’s National Antimonopoly Commission (CNA) cleared the US$450 million sale of Telefónica’s Movistar business, finding “few probabilities” that the deal would harm competition. The buyers now have six months to close, under a resolution reported on 2 October 2026.
Melisa Acquisition, a consortium led by US firm OXIO and Newfoundland Capital Management, is the buyer. It agreed in April to pay for Telefónica’s Mexican operation. On 24 September, the CNA board approved the merger with four votes in favour, after the parties formally notified the deal on 28 May.
The Approval
The clock matters. The approval runs for six months from the business day after notice takes effect. Expansión put the closing deadline in March 2027. The term can be extended once for a similar period if the parties justify it; El Economista calculated that an extension would push the final deadline to the last week of September 2027.
After closing, both companies have 30 business days to give the CNA proof of the transaction and file data showing its final value in Mexico. Telefónica said in April that the price was subject to adjustment. The resolution warns that missed filings could bring daily fines.
The CNA also made clear that its ruling doesn’t prejudge permits from other authorities. When the deal was announced, Telefónica named the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (CRT) as another regulator whose approval was needed. Neither company has publicly said whether the CRT granted that approval. The final price and exact closing date remain unannounced.
What the Buyer Gets
The deal covers all shares in Pegaso PCS and Celular de Telefonía, the two companies that make up Telefónica México. Through Pegaso, the buyer will also pick up a stake in GTAC, a fibre-optic network. The stake’s size is redacted.
This isn’t a traditional network operator. Movistar returned its mobile spectrum and no longer runs a national access network. Since 2019, it has operated as a virtual operator on AT&T’s infrastructure, while keeping its network core, customer systems and service centres. Expansión counted 20.1 million prepaid and postpaid customers.
The financial picture is mixed. El Economista reported that the business’s pre-tax result improved from a €7 million loss, about US$7.9 million, to a €14 million profit in 2025. The euro figures use a rate of 0.889 euros per US dollar, the rate at the close on 2 October. The same report said the unit lost customers, revenue and market share that year.
Market Position
Telefónica is stepping back. The group wants to focus on Spain, Brazil, Germany and the United Kingdom, and it has already sold units elsewhere in Spanish-speaking Latin America, including its Chile business. In Mexico, América Móvil dominates the market, leading in users, revenue and infrastructure.
OXIO has big plans for what it’s buying. It intends to move the operation to a cloud platform and add satellite links and artificial intelligence services. In September, the company said customer data would be stored in Amazon Web Services data centres in Querétaro.
Why This Matters:
Private capital is replacing a retreating multinational in one of Latin America’s biggest telecom markets, and the regulator found little reason to stand in the way. For investors, that’s a useful signal. The CNA reviewed the deal, set a clear timetable and attached enforcement terms, including daily fines for missed filings.
The process isn’t finished. The CRT’s position is unconfirmed, and the final price and closing date are unknown. Whether OXIO can turn a unit that lost customers, revenue and market share into a competitor to América Móvil, using cloud and AI rather than owned networks, will be settled by customers and the market, not regulators. That’s where the real test lies.