AT&T Has Choices to Make in Latin America After Time Warner Pact
- Throw-in asset in DirecTV deal now valued at $6 billion
- Phone carrier says content will attract viewers in region
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Photographer: Michael Nagle/BloombergAT&T Inc.’s $85.4 billion deal for Time Warner Inc. is putting a spotlight on the telecommunications giant’s little-noticed business in Latin America, a throw-in asset from a previous deal that now could figure more prominently in the company’s plans.
The division, acquired in last year’s $48.5 billion merger with DirecTV, includes a satellite-TV service in the Caribbean and in South American countries from Colombia to Argentina, plus a 93 percent stake in Sky Brasil and a 41 percent ownership of Sky Mexico. The company had 12.5 million Latin American TV subscribers in the third quarter, excluding Mexico, little changed from a year earlier as economic woes in countries such as Brazil and Venezuela dragged on growth.