DOJ Greenlights Liberty Latin America's Acquisition of AT&T's Operations in Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands

By Kimberly Chin

The U.S. Justice Department has given Liberty Latin America Ltd. the go-ahead to close its proposed acquisition of AT&T Inc.'s wireless and wireline operations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands subject to certain conditions, the company said Friday.

Liberty has entered into a consent judgment with the Justice Department allowing the deal to go through, but the Latin American and the Caribbean communications company is required to divest a part of its business-to-business operations in Puerto Rico.

The company expects to close the divestiture of the B2B operations soon, following regulatory approval. The approval process won't affect the closing of Liberty's deal to buy AT&T's assets, Liberty said.

Liberty said it planned to acquire AT&T's Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Island assets in an $1.95 billion all-cash deal in October of last year.

As part of the deal, AT&T will retain FirstNet responsibilities and relationships, in addition to DirecTV and some global business customer relationships, Liberty said. AT&T will retain its FirstNet network core and service capabilities.

Liberty will provide support for AT&T's FirstNet build in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands following the transaction's close, the company said.

Liberty expects a preliminary court order permitting the deal's closure over the next few days, the company said. Liberty and AT&T expect the deal to close on Oct. 31.

Write to Kimberly Chin at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 23, 2020 17:02 ET (21:02 GMT)

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