Mexico’s National Antimonopoly Commission (CNA) approved the sale of Telefónica’s Movistar business to Melisa Acquisition, but approval from another regulator remains unresolved. The CNA said its decision didn’t prejudge permits from other authorities. The buyers have six months to close the transaction.
CNA Approval and Pending Review
The CNA board approved the merger on 24 September, with four votes in favour. The parties formally notified the deal on 28 May. The resolution, reported on 2 October, says the approval remains valid 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 justified; El Economista calculated that an extension would move the final deadline to the last week of September 2027.
At the time the sale was announced, Telefónica identified the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (CRT) as another regulator whose approval was needed. Neither company had publicly said whether it had secured that approval. The final price and exact closing date also remained unannounced.
The CNA approved the transaction after finding “few probabilities” that it would harm competition. Its resolution also sets requirements for after closing: within 30 business days, both companies must provide 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 failing to file could lead to daily fines.
Ownership, Network and Customers
Melisa Acquisition is a consortium led by US firm OXIO and Newfoundland Capital Management. It agreed in April to pay US$450 million for Telefónica’s Mexican business. The transaction covers all shares in Pegaso PCS and Celular de Telefonía, the two companies that make up Telefónica México. Through Pegaso, the buyer will also acquire a stake in GTAC, a fibre-optic network; the size of that stake is redacted.
Movistar no longer operates a national access network after returning its mobile spectrum. Since 2019, it has operated as a virtual operator on AT&T’s infrastructure, while retaining its network core, customer systems and service centres. Expansión counted 20.1 million prepaid and postpaid customers. Its 2 October report headline rounded the figure to 21 million.
The business’s pre-tax result improved from a €7 million loss, about US$7.9 million, to a €14 million profit in 2025, El Economista reported. The same report said the unit lost customers, revenue and market share during that year.
A Retreat From Latin America
The sale forms part of Telefónica’s retreat from Spanish-speaking Latin America. The group wants to focus on Spain, Brazil, Germany and the United Kingdom, and has already sold units elsewhere, including its Chile business. In Mexico, América Móvil leads the market in users, revenue and infrastructure.
OXIO plans to move the operation to a cloud platform and add satellite links and artificial intelligence services. In September, it said customer data would be stored in Amazon Web Services data centres in Querétaro. The transaction would therefore transfer ownership of the companies and their customer systems to the buyer, while the stated plans include a change in the operation’s technology platform. The regulators’ remaining decisions and the final price hadn’t been announced.