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Mexico Antitrust Regulator Said to Clear $450 Million Telefónica Sale

By  |  October 1, 2026
Mexican flag against tall buildings

Mexico’s antitrust regulator has approved the $450 million sale of Telefónica’s Mexican business to an investor group led by Oxio and Newfoundland Capital Management, according to reporting by BNamericas, citing sources referenced by Mexican newspaper El Economista.

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    The National Antimonopoly Commission, or CNA, cleared the acquisition of Telefónica México by Melisa Acquisition, BNamericas reported. The deal covers 100% of Pegaso PCS and Celular de Telefonía, the companies through which Telefónica operates its Mexican mobile business.

    The regulator is expected to formally notify the parties of its decision shortly, according to BNamericas. A public ruling had not yet been issued at the time of the report.

    Telefónica operates in Mexico under its Movistar brand and has about 20 million customers, making it the country’s third-largest mobile operator, behind América Móvil’s Telcel and AT&T, according to BNamericas.

    Movistar already relies on AT&T’s infrastructure under a wholesale network arrangement. Oxio intends to retain that agreement, which runs through 2030, while also working with other providers as it develops a business more heavily based on cloud computing, software and data, BNamericas reported.

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    The regulatory clearance would bring Telefónica closer to completing a yearslong withdrawal from Spanish-speaking Latin America as the Madrid-based telecommunications company reshapes its geographic footprint.

    Telefónica has already divested operations in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay. Including the proposed Mexican transaction, proceeds from those disposals total about $4.5 billion, according to BNamericas.

    Once the Mexican transaction is completed, Venezuela would be Telefónica’s sole remaining operation in Spanish-speaking Latin America, BNamericas reported.

    The company is also seeking to accelerate a potential exit from Venezuela as the market there begins to open, according to the publication. Preliminary discussions were held with Latin America Real Assets Opportunities, or LARA, a fund co-founded by Mauricio Claver-Carone, but those talks did not advance, BNamericas reported, citing Bloomberg Línea.

    Any sale of the Venezuelan operation would require authorization from both the Venezuelan and U.S. governments, according to BNamericas.

    Telefónica had approximately 8.8 million customers in Venezuela as of September 2025, representing about 42% of the country’s mobile market, the publication reported.

    Source: Reporting and transaction details are based on BNamericas’ article, “Mexico antitrust regulator said to approve US$450mn sale of Telefónica’s Mexican unit,” which in turn cites reporting from El Economista and Bloomberg Línea.

    Source: BNamericas