Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica has offered €700 million ($959.6 million) for 49% of Colombia’s state-controlled telecommunications company Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogota SA, Spanish media reported Wednesday.
Telefonica confirmed that they were interested in ETB, but did not confirm the sum offered.
“The interest of Telefonica in the Colombian operator seems firm, since [ETB] is a company that possesses one in four fixed lines in Colombia, with a particularly large presence in the capital Bogota, which has over 1.9 million ETB lines,” said Banesto brokerage, as quoted by Portfolio.com.
ETB currently controls a third of broadband lines in Colombia, and is seeking a strategic partner to fund further investment in the company.
The telecommunications company was barred in September 2009 from searching for a partner, based on a legal complaint by its workers, but the ban was lifted in November.