Brazil's Grupo Oi SA unveiled plans on Wednesday to take over Telecom Italia's local mobile unit, in a move sources said was aimed at breaking up the country's second-biggest wireless carrier and upstaging merger offers by foreign rivals.Oi said on Wednesday that it hired Brazilian investment bank and shareholder Grupo BTG Pactual SA to explore alternatives to acquire Telecom Italia SpA's 67 percent stake in TIM Participa��es SA, the country's second biggest wireless carrier.Oi's plan is to bring in Mexico's America Movil SAB de CV and Spain's Telefonica SA in a deal to split TIM three ways, easing the financial and regulatory burdens of consolidation, according to two sources who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the deal.The move adds a new twist to the bidding war for Vivendi SA's Brazilian broadband unit GVT, which both Telecom Italia and Spain's Telefonica SA are pursuing to bolster their mobile businesses in the country.
America Movil SAB de CV is a Mexico-based company, which is primarily engaged in the provision of wireless communications services in Latin America. Shares of AMX traded higher by 1.09% or $0.26/share to $24.20. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $19.01 and as high as $24.17. On average, 5408310 shares of AMX exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 2237557.
Oi SA, formerly Brasil Telecom SA, is a Brazil-based holding company engaged in the provision of Switched Fixed-line Telephony Services (STFC) domestically and internationally. Shares of OIBR traded higher by 10.76% or $0.0609/share to $0.63. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $0.51 and as high as $2.34. On average, 16022200 shares of OIBR exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 21228614.
Telefonica SA is a Spain-based company active in the telecommunications and digital services sectors. Shares of TEF traded higher by 0.44% or $0.07/share to $15.95. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $13.50 and as high as $18.05. On average, 991368 shares of TEF exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 696729.
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