It finally came together. This Friday Entel and Millicom announced that they closed the transaction through which the Chilean operator sold its Peruvian subsidiary after Millicom offered them US$ 1,714 million, 70% more than what the market expected.
The amount includes lease liabilities, which implies a transaction multiple of 5.0 times the estimated EBITDA for 2026, before synergies and integration costs. “This transaction represents another important step in Millicom’s regional growth strategy and is expected to be financed through a combination of local financing and available liquidity,” said the firm controlled by Frenchman Xavier Niel.
The purchase price will be paid in three installments: 65% at closing, 10% twelve months after closing and 25% eighteen months after closing. The transaction is expected to close in early December 2026, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions.
The CEO of Entel, Antonio Büchi, explained that “this decision is part of our long-term strategy, which seeks to strengthen our position in Chile and generate value for our shareholders. Today we are the leading company, the one that is growing the most and one of the most valued brands in the country, which requires permanent investment efforts in a highly competitive market. This operation will allow us to be more agile and concentrate our efforts where we have the greatest competitive advantages, to deepen that leadership and grow both in the home internet market, digital services and other adjacent businesses.”
What will they do with the resources?
The resources that Entel will obtain opened another discussion: what the company will do with those US$ 1,714 million. Among the theses that circulate, is that a relevant part of the profit ends up distributed as dividends.
The other alternative that is discussed and that the words of the CEO of Entel reshape is that it strengthens its presence in Chile through a purchase that strengthens its business: the darts point to negotiations with Mundo Pacífico and there is even talk of a second attack for WOM assets.
An attractive purchase in the region: Pacific World
That’s right, one of the options that opens up is the possibility of Entel going shopping here, in its native country. A source familiar with the matter assured that the telco has had conversations with Mundo Pacífico, a firm specialized in the fixed market and which is controlled by the DigitalBridge fund, which passed into the hands of SoftBank in October.
The deal would make sense. Mundo, originally from Concepción and whose CEO today is the Argentine Enrique Coulembier, has grown by leaps and bounds in the field of fixed internet with its 100% national fiber optic network; market in which Entel, precisely, seeks to consolidate itself as a relevant player.
In the last semi-annual report from Subtel, Mundo Pacífico was placed in third place on the podium among telcos that offer fixed internet, with 1,037,607 connections and a 21.2% market share. With this, it was positioned behind Movistar (26.5%) and Claro-VTR (26.0%).
In the home pay television service, as of March 2026 the company has 17.3%, dethroning DirecTV from third place behind ClaroVTR (35.1%) and Movistar (19.9%).
Entel, on the other hand, has a lower participation in landline (11%), unlike the mobile business, where it is the number one operator with 35.2% of the market. And that is where you could bet your chips with what you collect from the operation with Millicom.
For now, at least, that’s what they’re trying to do on their own. In its latest quarterly results, Entel reported that its income from “Entel Hogar” residential services (via fiber) registered a growth of 18% in twelve months. This growth, mentioned in the document, was one of the drivers of the increase in its Ebitda, which rose 9% and reached $662,608 million.
With Mundo, in terms of territorial coverage, both could be a good complement. While Entel has its energies focused on the RM and has a presence – although smaller – in some of the northern regions such as Tarapacá, Coquimbo, Antofagasta and Atacama; Mundo is dominant in the center-southern of the country, with strong participation in Ñuble, Maule, Biobío, La Araucanía and O’Higgins.
Its sale would not be a surprise, say internal sources. As it is controlled by an investment fund, it is expected that its disposal – or even the purchase of another asset – will naturally take place at some point. At the moment, they assured, they are constantly observed by different market players.
Second round for WOM?
Another alternative that is circulating in the industry is the acquisition by Entel of assets of one of its three direct competitors: WOM.
And it wouldn’t be a new move. In the midst of its judicial reorganization in 2024, in light of its passage through Chapter 11, Entel presented a binding offer for a specific asset of WOM, bidding exclusively for WOM’s fiber optic-to-the-home (FTTH) network. The objective was to expand its own participation in the residential broadband business, avoiding the regulatory obstacles that would entail trying to acquire mobile customers, since it would leave it with an insurmountable market position before antitrust agencies.
That is, Entel has already shown interest in the same market that attracts it to Mundo Pacífico: that of fiber optics to the home.
In this market, however, the presence of WOM is substantially lower: as of June 2026, according to a Subtel report, the telco reported 216,363 fixed internet connections (via fiber optics), which represent 4.4% of the total market.
Go for the dividends
As for dividends, the path is as follows. Entel is controlled by Almendral, which has 54.86% of the property and for which the telephone company is practically its only asset. Almendral, in turn, is controlled by a pact of six groups, where the largest partner is the Matte family with 32.59%. The holding company transfers almost everything it receives: in 2025 it received $40,424 million in dividends from Entel and distributed $39,639 million to its shareholders.
For the Mattes, these funds would have an obvious destination. CMPC is going through one of its most demanding financial moments. Debt is the crux of the problem. At the end of September, CMPC’s net financial debt was equivalent to 4.23 times its Ebitda (at the end of June it was 4.17 times), about US$ 5 billion, above its own policy, which sets a maximum of 3.5 times. The rating agencies have been punishing its profile: Fitch lowered its local rating in April, and S&P warned that CMPC will need to further adjust its capital structure to approve Natureza without significantly deviating from its financial policy.
The company had set a goal of making the decision during 2026, but the board of directors has not yet approved it. In environmental matters, CMPC obtained the prior license for the Natureza project in October, although the installation license that allows work to begin on the Barra do Ribeiro plant, the largest investment in the project, is still pending. Reducing debt and securing new sources of financing are relevant factors to advance the initiative. In this scenario, the eventual resources from the sale of Entel Perú could represent an alternative for the shareholders of the Matte group, although there is no announced decision on their destination.
Source: www.df.cl
