MEXICO · TELECOMS
Key Facts
- The country Mexico, the United States’ southern neighbour, has a mobile phone market long led by Telcel, the carrier controlled by tycoon Carlos Slim.
- What happened AT&T agreed on Tuesday 13 October to sell its Mexican wireless business to a venture owned equally by Grupo Televisa and Fintech Holdings.
- The price US$2 billion, subject to adjustments, paid with cash and up to US$1.4 billion of debt secured on the business, not its owners.
- The business AT&T Mexico is the country’s second-largest mobile operator, with about 24.7 million wireless subscribers at the end of 2025.
- The buyers Grupo Televisa is a Mexican cable, satellite TV and broadband group listed in New York; Fintech Holdings belongs to investor David Martínez.
- What comes next Mexico’s competition authority and other regulators must approve, and the buyers expect to close in the first quarter of 2027.
- Power Index Mexico ranks 2nd of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 71.4 points (October 2026 edition).
AT&T has agreed to sell AT&T Mexico, its mobile phone business south of the border, for US$2 billion. The buyer is a 50-50 venture of Grupo Televisa, a Mexican cable and satellite TV group, and Fintech Holdings, owned by investor David Martínez.
For American investors, the deal would end AT&T’s 11-year push into Mexico and free money for fibre and mobile broadband at home. For Televisa, whose shares trade in New York, it is a big step into mobile phones in a market where Carlos Slim’s Telcel still leads.
What Televisa and Fintech Are Buying
Televisa announced the AT&T Mexico deal on Tuesday 13 October in filings to the Mexican Stock Exchange and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Its board of directors approved Televisa’s part in the purchase a day earlier, on Monday 12 October.
AT&T Mexico had about 24.7 million wireless subscribers at the end of 2025, and Televisa’s filing counts 7.1 million contract customers in early 2026. It runs its own nationwide network on roughly 233 MHz of radio spectrum, under concessions from the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport.
In 2025 the unit booked consolidated revenue of 85.4 billion pesos (about US$4.7 billion) and operating income of 1.4 billion pesos (about US$76 million). Those figures are converted at about 18.36 pesos to the US dollar on 14 October 2026.
Televisa and Fintech will each own half of the business through a holding trust. Televisa will book its stake as a joint venture, so AT&T Mexico’s revenue will not be added line by line to Televisa’s own accounts.
How the US$2 Billion Is Paid
The buyers plan to pay with cash on hand and non-recourse secured debt, which is backed by the acquired business, not by Televisa or Fintech. Televisa’s filing puts that debt at up to US$1.4 billion, split into a US$1.2 billion term loan and a US$200 million credit line.
BBVA México, the Mexican arm of the Spanish bank BBVA, is expected to provide the loans. Televisa itself plans a cash contribution of about US$400 million, and the purchase is not conditional on the financing.
Fintech Holdings is a Delaware company wholly owned by David Martínez Guzmán, a Mexican investor with interests in Telecom Argentina, that country’s main telecom group. A vehicle called Fintech Latam also bought some of the convertible bonds Televisa issued in June 2026, money that will partly finance Televisa’s stake.
Once those bonds convert in June 2027, Fintech Latam will hold a direct and indirect 22.3% of Televisa, which the filing calls a passive investment. El Economista, a Mexican business daily, reports that Martínez’s Fintech has bought into Televisa and raised its stake.
Why AT&T Is Leaving Mexico
AT&T built AT&T Mexico between 2014 and 2015 by buying two local carriers, Iusacell and Nextel México. El Economista puts the cost of those purchases at US$4.375 billion, plus another US$3 billion for a 4G network.
AT&T said in its own announcement from Dallas that the sale sharpens its focus on fibre and 5G networks in the United States. Chief executive John Stankey said “the AI future will run on converged networks with dense fiber assets” and that AT&T will invest at home.
AT&T added that the new owners are well placed to lead the Mexican unit’s next phase of growth. El Economista cites high spectrum fees, regulatory uncertainty and slow-acting rules on the dominant carrier as further reasons for the exit.
Telcel, owned by Carlos Slim’s América Móvil, remains the clear leader in Mexican mobile phones. Televisa already sells mobile plans under its Izzi cable brand, and Izzi and Megacable have taken 1.2 million phone lines from rivals, including AT&T.
Who Must Approve the AT&T Mexico Deal
The sale needs regulatory approval before it can close, and Televisa’s filing names the National Antitrust Commission (CNA), Mexico’s competition authority. El Economista and El Financiero both report that the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (CRT), Mexico’s telecom regulator, must also sign off.
The buyers expect to complete the purchase in the first quarter of 2027. El Economista expects few regulatory hurdles because AT&T is not dominant in spectrum, and it sees financing as the bigger challenge.
What It Means for You
AT&T shareholders swap a low-margin foreign unit, whose operating income was under 2% of revenue in 2025, for US$2 billion before adjustments. Holders of Televisa’s New York-listed shares, ticker TV, gain exposure to mobile phones through a half-owned venture that carries its own debt.
AT&T says the announcement has no impact on service for its US customers, including those travelling to Mexico. It will report AT&T Mexico as held for sale in its third-quarter filing with the SEC, the US markets regulator.
According to DPL News and Expansión, two Mexican tech and business outlets, AT&T Mexico says customers keep their lines and plans for now. Expansión adds that outstanding balances stay due and that any change will be sent to customers’ registered contacts.
What Is Not Known
The filings do not spell out the price adjustments, the penalty if the deal collapses or the contingent benefits AT&T expects. The shareholder agreement that will govern the partnership between Televisa and Fintech has not yet been signed.
Televisa’s filing lists intellectual-property agreements with AT&T but does not say whether the AT&T name will stay on Mexican stores. AT&T has not detailed the roaming arrangements for its US customers once the network changes hands.
Regulators have not said whether they will attach conditions to their approval. The loans are not final either, since the commitment letter with BBVA México is still expected rather than signed.
More: Mexico news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is buying AT&T Mexico?
A consortium owned 50% by Grupo Televisa and 50% by Fintech Holdings is buying the business. Fintech Holdings belongs to Mexican investor David Martínez Guzmán.
How much is the AT&T Mexico deal worth?
The purchase price is US$2 billion, subject to adjustments. The buyers will pay with cash and up to US$1.4 billion of debt secured on the business.
When will the sale close?
The buyers expect to close in the first quarter of 2027. Mexico’s competition authority and the telecom regulator still have to approve it.
What happens to AT&T Mexico customers?
AT&T Mexico says customers keep their lines and plans for now, and outstanding balances remain due. Any change will be sent to the contact details customers have registered.
Does the sale affect AT&T customers from the US who travel to Mexico?
AT&T says the announcement has no impact on service, including for customers travelling to Mexico from the United States. It has not yet detailed roaming arrangements for after the sale closes.
Sources: Grupo Televisa press release: Grupo Televisa and Fintech Agree to Acquire AT&T Mexico, 13 October 2026; AT&T newsroom: AT&T to Sell AT&T Mexico to Grupo Televisa and Fintech Holdings, 13 October 2026; Grupo Televisa Form 6-K, information statement on the AT&T México acquisition (SEC), 13 October 2026; Grupo Televisa Form 6-K, press release (SEC), 13 October 2026; El Economista: Grupo Televisa y Fintech Holdings adquieren AT&T México, 13 October 2026; El Economista: Televisa y David Martínez volverán a competir con Slim, 13 October 2026; El Financiero: Grupo Televisa y Fintech compran AT&T México por 2 mil millones de dólares, 13 October 2026; Expansión: Televisa acuerda compra de AT&T México por 2,000 millones de dólares, 13 October 2026; Expansión: Televisa compra AT&T, qué pasará con tu línea y deuda, 13 October 2026; DPL News: AT&T México, usuarios no verán cambios en su experiencia tras compra por Televisa, 13 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief