Liberty Latin America Wins DOJ Approval to Buy AT&T Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands Assets

By Mike Farrell
published

Liberty will divest certain B2B assets in Puerto Rico as part of $1.95 billion deal

Liberty Media

(Image credit: Liberty Latin America)

Liberty Latin America said it has received U.S. Department of Justice approval of its purchase of AT&T wireless and wireline assets in the Caribbean, agreeing to divest of certain business-to-business operations in Puerto Rico.

Liberty Latin America agreed last October to purchase AT&T’s wireless and wireline assets in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for $1.95 billion. Obtaining DOJ approval was contingent on the deal closing.

To meet the conditions in the DOJ approval, Liberty Latin America said in a press release that it has entered into an agreement to divest part of its B2B operations in Puerto Rico. This divestiture is expected to close promptly. Liberty Latin America said it expects to close the AT&T transaction on Oct. 31.

Under terms of the agreement, AT&T said it will retain its FirstNet first responders network responsibilities and relationships as well as its DirecTV satellite television and certain global business customer relationships. After the deal closes, Liberty Latin America said it will support AT&T’s FirstNet build in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Mike Farrell
Mike Farrell

Mike Farrell is senior content producer, finance for Multichannel News/B+C, covering finance, operations and M&A at cable operators and networks across the industry. He joined Multichannel News in September 1998 and has written about major deals and top players in the business ever since. He also writes the On The Money blog, offering deeper dives into a wide variety of topics including, retransmission consent, regional sports networks,and streaming video. In 2015 he won the Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Profile, an in-depth look at the Syfy Network’s Sharknado franchise and its impact on the industry.