Liberty Latin American (LLA) and Millicom have agreed to merge their operations in Costa Rica.

The agreement will see LLA hold a stake of around 86 percent in the company, with Millicom holding the remaining 14 percent.

Both companies noted that the final ownership percentage will be confirmed at closing.

The value of the combined operations is approximately $255 million, with a net debt of $533m.

Combined, the new entity will have more than 440,000 broadband subscribers.

“Costa Rica is a great country to operate in and Liberty Costa Rica is a strong business for us. By combining Liberty and Tigo, the fixed operations will accelerate the transition to FTTH and will enable us to deliver exceptional high-speed services for consumers, provide enhanced customer experiences, drive innovation, and offer growth opportunities for our people," said Balan Nair, president and CEO of Liberty Latin America.

Mauricio Ramos, chair of Millicom, added: “Our combined operations would significantly benefit the telecommunications sector by enhancing fiber network investment to help accelerate Costa Rica's technological evolution in a highly competitive market. It creates a stronger, more competitive entity with high investment capacity to meet the accelerated technological changes, network expansion, and service improvements, ensuring that long-term market conditions remain competitive while maintaining high-quality and valuable services for our customers in Costa Rica.”

The deal is subject to customary closing conditions, and will also require regulatory approval.

LLA expects the transaction to be completed during the second half of 2025.

Millicom had previously attempted to buy Telefónica's operations in the country, before controversially backing out of a deal.

Separately in Costa Rica, another telco Grupo ICE has announced the launch of its 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) services in the country.

This story also appeared in our Spanish edition