AT&T prepares to sell 24 million-subscriber business

AT&T is one of the biggest telcos in the US, and it has incredible powers, but even AT&T couldn't make it down in Mexico. That's why Ma Bell is eyeing an exit from the country.

There's a possibility that the Grupo Televisa giant could buy AT&T Mexico soon, a report states.

How big is AT&T Mexico?

As of late 2024/early 2025, AT&T Mexico had about 24 million subscribers, which places it third in the country.

Although no exact dates are mentioned for the business sale, that's the second time the topic is brought up in recent months. In August, Bloomberg reported that AT&T is considering exiting from Mexico.

According to local reports, Grupo Televisa's Izzi telecom arm would be used in the deal. Televisa is the logical buyer, as the media group has significant resources and recently took full control of Sky Mexico, previously partly owned by AT&T. Its existing internet and phone operations could benefit from the scale AT&T's assets would bring.

The Mexican telecom market, however, is dominated by America Movil, making AT&T Mexico a challenging asset to sell, and its decade-long struggle in the country may deter other buyers.

Another potential buyer

Insiders note that US-based fund manager Cerberus Capital Management is also in the running, with Deutsche Bank managing the process, but Televisa is reportedly the frontrunner. The potential sale is valued between $3 billion and $4 billion, though Bloomberg previously suggested AT&T was seeking more than $2 billion. Televisa declined to comment on the report, calling it part of "ongoing processes".

The difference between $2 billion and $4 billion is staggering, so I don't expect the negotiations to be easy or superfast. It's going to be a long process, but a successful deal would mark a return to the Mexican telecom market for Televisa, which briefly owned a stake in AT&T's operations under its former identity.

Televisa had acquired a 50% stake in Iusacell in 2012, later sold to AT&T, which also purchased Nextel Mexico, merging the assets into AT&T Mexico.

Is this the smart move?

AT&T's ambition to shake up the market never really materialized in Mexico. Despite being a global telecom giant with deep pockets, AT&T has struggled to turn a profit, and the promise of greater competition in Mexico has largely remained a pipe dream.

Now, an exit seems not just likely, but inevitable. Plus, companies really need to cut back on expenses these days. As you know, Verizon laid off about 13,000 employees recently. Although only time will tell if these were just "expenses", or actually a valuable asset.