Viacom buys Telefe from Telefónica for $345m
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Viacom buys Telefe from Telefónica for $345m

Viacom has bought Telefónica’s Argentinian broadcasting arm Telefe in a deal worth $345 million, it confirmed.

The US broadcaster, which owns the likes of Comedy Central and MTV, acquired the brand and assets from Spanish carrier Telefónica as it looks to expand its presence in Latin America.

Telefe has around 26.8 million subscribers and reaches around 95% of all Argentinian Households. Its assets include pay-TV service Telefe Internacional, which also broadcasts outside of Argentina.

Bloomberg first unveiled the deal, which is subject to approval from Argentinian regulator Enacom, earlier this month.

“Telefe is an outstanding broadcast and production business, and this acquisition will accelerate our growth strategy in Argentina, one of the most advanced and valuable media markets in Latin America,” Robert Bakish, acting president and chief executive of Viacom.

It comes as Telefónica is looking to offload assets in an attempt to alleviate a huge debt, believed to be around €50 billion. 

It has already seen a deals for O2 UK fall through after the European Union blocked a sale to CK Hutchison. It also cancelled an IPO of infrastructure arm Telxius last month, citing low interest from investors.

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