Spain's Telefónica to sell Mexico business to US-led consortium for $450 million

April 7 (Reuters) - Spain's Telefónica TEF.MC said on Tuesday it will sell its Mexican businesses to a U.S.-led consortium in a deal valuing the unit at $450 million, as the telecom operator looks to exit its non-core businesses and sharpen its focus on Europe.

Here are the details:

• Telefónica is selling Movistar Mexico, which has more than 20 million mobile subscribers, to Melisa Acquisition, a consortium led by telecom tech firm OXIO and asset manager Newfoundland Capital Management.

• Movistar Mexico will continue operating under the Movistar brand and retain its existing leadership team, while transitioning its operations to OXIO's platform, OXIO and Newfoundland said in separate statements.

• Telefónica's exit from Mexico had long been complicated by a dispute over about $250 million in tax arrears, which was litigated at the country's Supreme Court.

• The sale, subject to regulatory approvals, leaves Venezuela as the only remaining non-core business in Madrid-listed Telefónica's Latin American portfolio, after the group already divested units in Chile and Colombia.

• Chief Executive Marc Murtra said in January that the roadmap to exit Venezuela remained unchanged, despite the U.S.-backed ouster of President Nicolas Maduro.

• Telefónica is seeking to concentrate on its core markets in Spain, Brazil, Britain and Germany, with any consolidations envisions likely to depend on European Union regulators taking a softer stance.

• The wave of Latin American asset sales weighed on Telefónica's balance sheet in 2025, when it posted a net loss of 4.3 billion euros ($5.02 billion), partly tied to divestments in Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Uruguay.

($1 = 0.8558 euros)