U.S. DoJ clears Liberty Latin America acquisition of AT&T operations in Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands
Liberty Latin America Ltd. (NASDAQ: LILA and LILAK, OTC Link: LILAB) has entered into a consent judgment with the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) that clears the way toward closing its acquisition of AT&T’s wireless and wireline operations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The consent judgment requires Liberty Latin America to divest certain B2B operations in Puerto Rico. Liberty Latin America and AT&T now expect to close the deal October 31.
The two companies announced the deal a little over a year ago (see “AT&T to sell operations in Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands to Liberty Latin America”). The agreement calls for Liberty Latin America to pay $1.95 billion in cash for the assets, which it will add to its existing operations in more than 20 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean. The company offers such consumer brands as VTR, Flow, Liberty, Más Móvil, BTC, UTS, and Cabletica. Liberty Latin America also operates undersea and terrestrial fiber-optic cable networks that connect more than 40 markets in the region.
Despite selling its assets in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AT&T will retain FirstNet responsibilities and relationships as well as DIRECTV and certain global business customer relationships. Liberty Latin America will support AT&T’s FirstNet build in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands after the deal closes.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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