RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The leading telecommunications operators were logically among the group of interested parties, but there were also surprises.
The Patria fund, owner of Winity II Telecom infrastructure company, was among those interested in acquiring some of the frequencies offered by ANATEL. The other parties interested in bidding for frequencies in the world’s largest auction, estimated at over US$9 billion, are regional Internet providers and 5G initiative consortia.
The operators interested in investing in 5G are Algar Telecom, Brasil Digital Telecom, Brisanet, Claro, Cloud2U Indústria e Comércio de Equipamentos Eletronicos, Consorcio 5G Sul and FlyLink. Also Mega Net Internet Provider (5G Initiative), Neko Servicio de Comunicao (Surf Telecom), NK 108 Empreendimentos e Participacoes-Highline, and Sercomtel. Completing the list are Telefónica-Vivo, TIM, VDF Tec Inform. LTDA and Winity II Telecom.
There are several small-scale Internet providers not involved in the mobile business, or that do so under the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), responsible for over 35% of Brazilians’ connectivity. Or cases such as the 5G Initiative, a consortium made up of small operators interested in accessing these frequencies. Whatever the case may be, what the most important bidding process in Latin America is showing is that everyone wants to get on board. No one wants to pass it up.
Among them is the Patria fund, or Patria Investments, owner of Winity II Telecom, a company that offers a wireless infrastructure platform based on mobile telephony network assets, indoor coverage systems and new wireless connectivity technologies, as the company itself explains on its website. Among its services, it provides macro sites, customized sites, distributed antenna systems (DAS), small cells, private network solutions and new wireless technologies, among others.
Its owner, Patria fund, is present in several countries in the region, namely Uruguay, Chile, Brazil and Colombia, as well as in the Cayman Islands, and in Santa Monica and New York, in the United States, Hong Kong, Dubai and the United Kingdom. Its interests are concentrated in real estate, investment funds, financing and infrastructure. In the latter case, the focus is on telecommunications, energy, transportation and logistics, oil & gas, and environmental services. Assets under its management are worth over US$15 billion.
Depending on the country in the region, it is more or less known. Chile knows it best. There, it is present through a renewable energy company and a water desalination project. In addition, it is interested in participating in several concessions, as a result of which it was listed on the Nasdaq a few months ago. Although its share price is currently around US$17, it raised some US$600 million at the time of its IPO, announcing the availability of fresh money to move forward in businesses that it considers relevant. Will it be Brazil’s 5G?
According to the Chilean media, Patria Investments or Patria Fund, owns Latin American Power, a company with 10 projects in operation for more than 340 MW in renewable energies in Chile and Peru. Among them is the San Juan wind farm, located in the north of the former, in the Atacama region.
In addition, the company Aguas Pacifico, which manages the Aconcagua project, is building a desalination plant to produce and transport up to 1,000 liters of fresh water for human consumption, industry, mining and agriculture. In mid-2021 the company expressed its intention to participate in future highway concessions in Chile.
It is also quite well known in Brazil. After going public, the fund said in statements to the media that there are companies in the region’s countries, such as Mexico, Chile and Colombia, with which its top managers have contacts. “If we expand through acquisitions, we will choose companies with the same DNA. Nothing is committed yet,” said one of its top executives at the time.
If its bid for the 5G tender in Brazil is successful, it will have made a commitment to growth by entering new terrain, albeit linked to the rest of its strategic interests. In fact, last July it bought NeoSecure, a cybersecurity company present in Chile, Argentina, Peru, Colombia and Brazil. Knowing that cybersecurity is a topic that is becoming increasingly relevant in the industry and in several economic activities, taking a new position in the telecommunications industry through Winity II, NeoSecure, and a portion of spectrum, makes sense.
This interest arises in a scenario in which ANATEL approved some adjustments to the bidding documents as a result of observations made by Claro, TIM, Vivo and Sercomtel, which were unanimously accepted by the Board of Directors and which are related to the terms of authorization to be signed by those who win the bidding. However, it will not change the date of November 4, chosen to announce the winners of the millionaire bidding.
The countdown has begun and interest is high. The world’s largest 5G tender, the most awaited in the region, will be the focus of the industry’s attention henceforth. Who will offer the highest bid?