Millicom adds Telefónica Chile to its LatAm stack

• Millicom has just completed the acquisition of Telefónica’s operations in Colombia
• Now the Latin America-focused telecom group has struck a deal, along with major investor Xavier Niel, to acquire Telefónica Chile
• The deal values Telefónica Chile at about $1.2bn, but the Spanish telco won’t be banking anywhere near that amount from the deal

Only days after completing the acquisition of Telefónica’s controlling stake in Colombia Telecomunicaciones (Coltel), Latin America-focused telecom group Millicom, in partnership with major investor Xavier Niel, has agreed to acquire Telefónica Chile in a deal that values the operation at $1.215bn. 

The move expands Millicom’s regional empire – it currently has operations in nine LatAm markets – and allows Telefónica to say adios to a market it has been seeking to exit for some time. 

The deal has a lot of moving parts. Telefónica Chile is being acquired by an M&A “vehicle” that is 49% owned by Millicom and 51% owned by NJJ Holding, an investment firm owned by serial telecom sector entrepreneur Xavier Niel who, in turn, is Millicom’s largest single investor (with a stake of more than 40%). 

While the deal values Telefónica Chile at $1.215bn, according to Telefónica, a big chunk of that value – €479m, or $571m – is debt.  

Telefónica noted that it will receive just $50m up front and then a “deferred payment” of $340m. The telco’s note to its investors also states that an additional earn-out payment of $150m might be forthcoming, though that is dependent on “certain events in the Chilean telecommunications market.”

Whatever the final amount paid, the end result is that Millicom, which operates in Latin America under the Tigo brand – gets its foot into the market in Chile, where it will compete with Entel, Claro and WOM, and Telefónica gets out. 

Telefónica Chile is the third-largest mobile player in the country, with about 5.4 million customers and a market share of about 20%, though the market is very fragmented, with Entel commanding about 35% market share, WOM about 25%, and Claro about 19%. It also boasts a near 40% share of Chile’s fibre broadband access market, though that sector only boasts a few million users in total.

Telefónica Chile generated revenues of about €1.07bn in the first nine months of 2025 and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of €194m, but those numbers have been shrinking.

Millicom states in this announcement that although it will initially hold a minority stake in Telefónica Chile – it will have the option to acquire NJJ’s stake in the fifth and sixth year after the deal is closed – it will “operate the business from day one and will apply the Millicom operational playbook to stabilise and strengthen the asset” by “drawing on its extensive regional experience.”

It added: “As partners, NJJ and Millicom aim to enhance competitiveness and operational efficiency, capitalise on network modernisation and service innovation, and support sustained investment in network quality and digital services in Chile. The transaction provides a distinctive opportunity to acquire and reposition a challenged asset in one of the region’s largest and most strategic markets at an attractive valuation, while preserving the strength and flexibility of Millicom’s balance sheet.”

For Telefónica, the exit is in line with its new strategy to focus on building scale in its main markets, which are in Europe (Spain, Germany, UK) and Brazil, the only LatAm market in which Telefónica intends to have a long-term position.   

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV