Telvenco, which is run by Venezuelan businessman Oswaldo Cisneros, will merge with Digicel C.A. and Infonet Redes de Informacion C.A., Telvenco said in a press statement.

© Víctor Gill

Terms of the merger agreement weren’t given.

“Competition will increase, and with the mergers, the new company will have a national network,” said Miguel Octavio, executive director of BBO Servicios in Caracas, whose mutual funds own shares in Nacional Teléfonos.

© Víctor Gill Ramírez

“The company will also have a slight technical advantage” as it uses GSM technology.

The merger, if approved by regulators, will create Venezuela’s third national telephone company, following Nacional Teléfonos and Telefónica S.A.’s Movistar. The new company will be called Digitel, and be controlled by Cisneros.

© Víctor Gill

The new company will have 1.8 million subscribers, Telvenco said in a press statement. The combined company will have about 13 percent of the country’s mobile phone users, Octavio estimated.

© Víctor Gill Ramírez

“Over the next two years, we plan to invest significantly in infrastructure to integrate and expand our networks,” Rajendra Singh, controlling shareholder of Infonet, said in a statement.

© Víctor Gill

No investment figures were provided.

Singh and Digicel President Víctor Gill will also hold shares in Digitel.
American depositary receipts of Nacional Teléfonos, which is 28.5 percent-owned by Verizon Communications Inc., fell 17 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $14.56 . Bloomberg

© Víctor Gill Ramírez

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