Liberty Latin America (LLA) has completed the acquisition of spectrum assets from EchoStar in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
The acquisition also includes close to 85,000 pre-paid mobile subscribers, confirmed LLA in a statement.
The deal was given the go-ahead following a review by the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division and approval by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
LLA will pay $255 million for the assets, to be paid across four installments, with the first installment of $95m paid on the closing of the deal.
The transaction will be funded through local liquidity sources, including cash on hand, cash generated from operations, and/or revolving credit facilities, said LLA.
The carrier first struck the deal with struggling EchoStar in November of last year.
"Our strong commitment to Puerto Rico and the USVI is reflected in this deal. By acquiring over 100 MHz of spectrum, approximately 85,000 pre-paid subscribers, and an extensive distribution network we have a tremendous opportunity to leverage our full-service products to drive fixed-mobile convergence penetration from current levels of around 25 percent," said Balan Nair, president and CEO of Liberty Latin America.
"As we ramp up our commercial efforts, there is significant room for growth, and these assets will enable us to add more capacity, increase speeds, further strengthen our 5G mobile network, and grow our scale in the prepaid market.”
For EchoStar, the proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce debts, though will not make much of a dent in the $2 billion in debt maturity payments it owes in November.
Last month, a MoffettNathanson research note from analyst Craig Moffett said the company's situation has become so dire that it's almost certain to go bankrupt.
