Acquisition of BCP is urgent for Telecom Americas, say analysts

At a conference call on first-quarter earnings for investors and analysts worldwide Carlos Garcia, chief financial officer of America Movil, repeated that the group isn?t in a hurry to complete any acquisition in particular. America Movil controls Telecom Americas, widely seen as the likeliest buyer of Brazil?s BCP. Mr Garcia specifically said no negotiations have taken place on BCP, since the B-band cellular carrier?s main shareholders (Safra and BellSouth) and creditors are still seeking a debt restructuring agreement.
However, Mexican and U.S. analysts believe America Movil?s interest is ?total and urgent?. It?s pretending not to be interested in order to pressure BCP?s shareholders and creditors to ?agree the right price?, they say. They can?t see this game lasting much longer and believe a deal is possible for a higher price than Telecom Americas paid recently for Tele Centro Oeste Celular and BSE.
Jeffrey Noble, an analyst with BBVA Securities, recalls that anyone seriously interested in acquiring BCP needs to do so by September, when its PCS wireless service using GSM must be up and running.

Employees of Telecom Americas are skeptical about the possibility of building a subscriber base from scratch in São Paulo. A well-informed source inside the group sees little sense in trying to compete against both Vivo and TIM without a strong foundation on which to enter the São Paulo market.