By LCN Business Desk
In July 2021 AT&T sold Vrio, the unit running DirecTV and Sky to 10.3 million subscribers across 11 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Asked what remained of its regional commitment, the company named one thing.
"We remain committed to Latin America through our wireless business in Mexico and services for multinational corporations operating in the region," said Lori Lee, then chief executive of AT&T Latin America.
On 13 October 2026 AT&T agreed to sell that wireless business.
Who is buying it, and for how much?
A 50-50 joint venture, for US$2 billion.
Grupo Televisa and Fintech Holdings, the investment firm led by David Martínez, will hold the Mexican unit equally. AT&T Mexico is the country's second-largest mobile operator behind América Móvil's Telcel, with 24.7 million subscribers as of December.
The purchase lifts Televisa's share of total fixed and wireless subscribers in Mexico from 8 per cent to 19 per cent, a gain of eleven points. AT&T expects the sale to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to customary conditions including Mexican regulatory approval.
What did AT&T pay to get in?
More than twice what it is getting out.
AT&T entered Mexico with two purchases. In November 2014 it announced US$2.5 billion for Iusacell, bought from Grupo Salinas, a figure that included US$800 million of debt. In January 2015 it announced US$1.875 billion for Nextel Mexico, bought from NII Holdings and stated net of financial debt. The two announced figures total US$4.375 billion.
| AT&T in Mexico | Announced | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Iusacell, from Grupo Salinas | November 2014 | US$2.5bn, including US$800m of debt |
| Nextel Mexico, from NII Holdings | January 2015 | US$1.875bn, net of debt |
| Announced entry total | US$4.375bn | |
| Sale to Televisa and Fintech Holdings | October 2026 | US$2bn |
Source: AT&T announcements as reported at the time, and the October 2026 sale terms. The two entry figures are stated on different bases, one including debt and one net of it, so the total is the sum of the announced headline prices rather than a like-for-like enterprise value.
The exit price is about 46 per cent of the announced entry total. That comparison counts purchase prices only. It does not count the network AT&T built across the decade in between, which it is also handing over.
The company that said Mexico was its commitment to Latin America is selling Mexico.
What does AT&T get out of it?
Room to spend at home.
AT&T has said the transaction lets it sharpen capital allocation and concentrate on expanding fibre and 5G inside the United States. The same logic was given in 2021, when Lori Lee said the Vrio sale would "allow us to sharpen our focus on investing in connectivity for customers".
Vrio went to Grupo Werthein, an Argentine holding company with interests in telecommunications, finance, insurance, agribusiness and real estate. Its 11 markets included Caribbean ones.
What changes in the Mexican market?
One fewer foreign carrier facing América Móvil.
Telcel, América Móvil's Mexican mobile arm, remains the largest operator. AT&T was the second. After the sale that position passes to a domestic consortium pairing Mexico's largest broadcaster with an investment firm, rather than to a United States carrier with a continental balance sheet behind it.
Mexico's telecommunications regulator will decide whether the combination is permitted. The country restructured its telecoms rules in the 2013 reform that opened the market AT&T entered.
Why does a Mexican telecom sale matter to the Caribbean?
Because the Caribbean was in the first sale, and because the pattern is the point.
Vrio's 11 markets spanned Latin America and the Caribbean, so the region has already been on one side of this withdrawal. What is left after the Mexican sale closes is AT&T's business serving multinational corporations, the second half of the 2021 sentence.
The wider reading is about what a decade of foreign telecom investment in a large regional market was worth on exit. Caribbean telecoms markets are smaller, more concentrated and more dependent on a handful of operators, and the terms on which outside capital enters and leaves them are set by the same calculations.
Mexico's economic turn toward Washington is examined in Mexico Offers to Buy More American and Less From Everyone Else, and how it courts development finance in Mexico Did Not Build a Development Bank. Its air links into the Caribbean are in Aeroméxico Will Fly to Jamaica and The Bahamas.
What the title card shows
Every data point on the article's title card, in text.
- US$2 billion. The agreed sale price of AT&T's Mexican wireless unit to Grupo Televisa and Fintech Holdings, announced 13 October 2026.
- US$4.375 billion. The announced total of AT&T's two Mexican entry purchases: US$2.5 billion for Iusacell in November 2014, including US$800 million of debt, and US$1.875 billion for Nextel Mexico in January 2015, net of debt. The two are stated on different bases.
- 46 per cent. The exit price as a share of that announced entry total. LCN's arithmetic.
- 24.7 million subscribers. AT&T Mexico as of December, the country's second-largest mobile operator behind América Móvil's Telcel.
- 8 to 19 per cent. Televisa's share of total fixed and wireless subscribers in Mexico before and after the purchase, a gain of eleven points.
- 50-50. The ownership split between Grupo Televisa and Fintech Holdings, the investment firm led by David Martínez.
- First quarter of 2027. When AT&T expects the sale to close, subject to conditions including Mexican regulatory approval.
- 11 countries. The Latin American and Caribbean markets served by Vrio, AT&T's DirecTV and Sky business, when it was sold to Grupo Werthein in July 2021 with 10.3 million subscribers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is buying AT&T Mexico?
Grupo Televisa and Fintech Holdings, the investment firm led by David Martínez, in a 50-50 joint venture, for US$2 billion. AT&T expects the sale to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to conditions including Mexican regulatory approval.
How much did AT&T pay for its Mexican business?
It announced US$2.5 billion for Iusacell in November 2014, a figure including US$800 million of debt, and US$1.875 billion for Nextel Mexico in January 2015, stated net of debt. The announced figures total US$4.375 billion, so the sale price is about 46 per cent of what was announced on the way in.
How big is AT&T Mexico?
It is Mexico's second-largest mobile operator with 24.7 million subscribers as of December, behind América Móvil's Telcel. The purchase lifts Televisa's share of Mexican fixed and wireless subscribers from 8 per cent to 19 per cent.
Does this end AT&T's presence in Latin America?
AT&T sold Vrio, its DirecTV and Sky business across 11 Latin American and Caribbean countries, to Grupo Werthein in July 2021, and said at the time that its commitment to the region rested on its wireless business in Mexico and its services for multinational corporations. The Mexican business is the one now being sold.
What does AT&T say it will do instead?
Concentrate capital on expanding fibre and 5G networks in the United States.