Spanish telecom group Telefonica on Thursday said it is open to mergers, acquisitions and deals to share networks in Mexico, where it lags far behind former monopoly and arch-rival America Movil . The company, one of Europe's most heavily indebted telecoms operators, this month said it had already met its target to cut debt below 47 billion euros ($62.9 billion) by year-end and had now regained financial firepower.It has scaled down its operations by selling non-core assets in Europe and Latin America and now aims to focus on developing its business in key markets such as Spain, Germany, Britain, Brazil and Mexico."We are very open minded to consolidation in Mexico," said Telefonica Chief Operating Officer Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete at the Morgan Stanley annual technology, media and telecoms conference in Barcelona."Consolidation might happen not just in terms of merging, but also roaming or network sharing," Alvarez-Pallete said. "We remain committed to the Mexican market, one of our top five. We are open to deals or consolidation, since we think it makes sense and the timing is right."
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides its products and services to a range of clients and customers, including corporations, governments, financial institutions and individuals. Shares of MS traded higher by 2.12% or $0.641/share to $30.91. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $16.23 and as high as $30.78. On average, 13173400 shares of MS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 5426278.
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