Chilean banking group CorpGroup, which is part of Grupo Saieh, has reached an agreement to acquire a 20% stake in local triple play provider VTR for 167bn pesos (US$340mn) from the Cristalerías de Chile holding, CorpGroup said in a statement to securities regulator SVS.
The deal will be finalized on May 19 and net Cristalerías de Chile, part of the Claro investment group (not associated with the mobile operator), a profit of 68bn pesos.
Liberty Global (Nasdaq: LBTYA), which owns 80% of VTR, had tried to buy the remaining 20% in November but its US$260mn offer fell short of Cristalerías de Chile expectations. A previous 167bn-peso bid from brokerage Celfin Capital for the 20% stake had expired on November 6.
CorpGroup said it was entering a company with the highest growth rates and best reputation in Chile’s telecoms industry.
VTR last year won a mobile telephony license, for which it is currently deploying a greenfield network.