Spanish telecom service provider Telefonica has sold half of its 5 percent stake in China Unicom (Hong Kong) for $854 million.
The transaction leaves Telefonica with a 2.51 percent stake in China Unicom.
The strategy of Telefonica, which will be announcing its third quarter result on Wednesday, is to raise fresh funds for acquisitions in Europe and Latin America, particularly in Brazil.
Telefonica has agreed to buy Brazilian broadband business GVT for $9 billion and plans to fold it into its Vivo-branded mobile phone business in Brazil to create the country’s biggest telecom group, said a Reuters report.
The Spanish telecom giant may join hands with Brazil’s Grupo Oi and Mexico’s America Movil to place a joint bid worth around $13 billion for TIM.
In 2012, Telefonica sold 4.56 percent stake in China Unicom for $1.4 billion.
editor@telecomlead.com
