Telecom Argentina has proposed that Metrotel, an operator specializing in fiber-optic networks, acquire certain fixed infrastructure assets from Telefónica Móviles Argentina as part of the measures proposed to obtain regulatory approval for the acquisition of Movistar in the country.

The transaction is part of Telecom’s acquisition of Telefónica Móviles Argentina, announced in February 2025 for US$1.245 billion. The transaction gave Telecom control of Telefónica’s businesses in Argentina, including the operations of Movistar and Tuenti, but final approval by the competition authorities is still pending.

The proposal now being submitted calls for the transfer of certain network assets to Metrotel, a company backed by Riverwood Capital and Blackstone. The goal is to mitigate potential competitive effects resulting from the concentration of two major telecommunications operators in the Argentine market.

The move is particularly significant for the country’s connectivity infrastructure. Telefónica Argentina operates fixed broadband and fiber-optic networks, as well as infrastructure used to provide wholesale connectivity services, data transport, and network leasing.

The National Commission for the Defense of Competition’s (CNDC) own documentation identifies these markets as part of both companies’ activities. Both Telecom and Telefónica operate in corporate services, data centers, and wholesale markets, in addition to providing connectivity to other telecommunications companies through data transport and infrastructure leasing.

The acquisition of Telefónica Móviles Argentina is one of the largest recent transactions in the Argentine telecommunications sector. Telecom already operates in the country under the Personal and Flow brands and has businesses in mobile telephony, broadband, television, corporate services, network infrastructure, and data centers. Telefónica, for its part, operates under the Movistar brand and owns both mobile and fixed-line networks.

The CNDC had already noted in its preliminary analysis that both companies overlap in several wholesale markets, including connectivity to the wholesale Internet network, data transport, and infrastructure leasing. It also identified the presence of both companies in data center services, a segment increasingly linked to the expansion of fiber networks and the growth of data traffic.

While the transaction continues to move through the regulatory process, Telecom is thus advancing a strategy aimed at integrating Movistar’s assets, while planning to divest itself of part of the infrastructure that could lead to greater competitive overlaps. The eventual transfer to Metrotel would make the fiber company one of the beneficiaries of the reorganization of Argentina’s telecommunications infrastructure landscape.

This piece was automatically translated from DCD's Spanish site and edited by a member of DCD staff.