Liberty Latin America to Acquire Controlling Stake in UTS
- Acquisition increases C&W’s scale in Curaçao and expands footprint to St. Maarten, St. Martin, Bonaire, St. Barths, St. Eustatius and Saba
- Bringing innovation and world-class connectivity solutions to UTS customers
- Leveraging Liberty Latin America’s regional scale to drive synergies
Denver, Colorado – March 26, 2019: Liberty Latin America Ltd. ("Liberty Latin America" or “LLA”) (NASDAQ: LILA and LILAK, OTC Link: LILAB) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 87.5% of United Telecommunication Services N.V. (“UTS”), which provides fixed and mobile services to the island nations of Curaçao, St.Maarten, St.Martin, Bonaire, St.Barths, St.Eustatius and Saba, in an all cash transaction. The agreement to acquire represents all shares held in UTS by the Government of Curaçao. In the transaction, UTS is valued at an enterprise value of $189 million 1 on a cash- and debt-free basis, representing a multiple of 6x 2018 Adjusted EBITDA2 prior to the merger with the existing Cable & Wireless Communications Limited (C&W) business in Curaçao and integration into LLA’s regional operations. This enhanced national and regional scale will provide a platform for both improved and exciting services for all our customers and for further material synergies.
Balan Nair, President and CEO of Liberty Latin America, commented, “We are excited to welcome UTS to Liberty Latin America. By consolidating these operations in Curaçao, we will form the largest full-service converged telecom operator on the island and create a true national champion, bringing world-class connectivity solutions to our customers on both fixed and mobile networks. In addition, through this acquisition, we are expanding our footprint in the region, allowing us to further leverage our operational scale and unique sub-sea network.”
He further added, “The combination of AT&T’s leading mobile businesses with Liberty Puerto Rico’s leading high-speed broadband and TV business will create a strong and competitive integrated communications player, with a combined annual revenue of over $1.2 billion2 in Puerto Rico and $4.6 billion2 across LLA. By continuing to invest in digital infrastructure, innovation, 5G networks and a friendly customer service experience, we are confident that this new combination will support our long-term growth profile and that this deal will be free cash flow accretive on a per share basis.”
UTS provides video, broadband internet, fixed-line telephony and mobile LTE services to residential and business customers across Curaçao, St. Maarten, St. Martin, Bonaire, St. Barths, St. Eustatius and Saba. As of December 31, 2018, UTS served a total of 101,000 fixed subscribers3 and 134,000 mobile subscribers3, the majority of which were located in Curaçao.
Liberty Latin America intends to finance the acquisition of UTS through existing liquidity, including incremental revolver drawings at C&W. The transaction is expected to be completed in the coming days.