Several suitors are pursuing the Mexican fiber optics assets of NYSE-listed REIT American Tower Corporation (ATC) in the second round of bidding, according to four sources familiar with the situation.
Boston-based ATC mandated BBVA earlier this year to run a sale process for its fiber assets in Mexico and the process is now at an advanced stage, the sources said.
CIM Group, Cirion, Flō Networks, Liberty Latin America and Ufinet have all signed NDAs and have been actively involved in the auction, the sources familiar said.
Boston-based ATC originally acquired the urban assets of Mexican communications infrastructure business KIO Networks in 2017 for USD 500m.
At the time, the assets consisted of more than 50,000 concrete poles and 2,100 route miles of fiber, primarily in Mexican cities.
Cirion, previously the Latin American operations of Lumen Technologies, is backed by infrastructure investor Stonepeak and boasts approx. 86,000km (53,437.9 miles) of terrestrial and subsea fiber routes across all of Latin America.
Ufinet is a Latin American carrier of carriers, with a neutral fiber network stretching for more than 100,000km across 14 countries in Latin America. The Seventh Cinven Fund holds a majority stake in Ufinet International alongside Enel X and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), which acquired a stake in the business in June, according to Ufinet’s website.
Flō Networks, which was previously known as Transtelco until February 2022, provides digital infrastructure services connecting companies on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border through its more than 15,000 route miles of fiber. Flō Networks also connects 15 countries across the Americas.
Liberty Latin America, connected to Liberty Global, offers telecom services in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and other parts of Latin America, according to its website.
CIM Group is a California-based investor with assets in the real estate and infrastructure sectors.
ATC, BBVA, Cirion and Flō Networks declined to comment. CIM Group, Liberty Latin America and Ufinet did not respond to a request for comment.
