Jesus Mejia, the CEO of Honduran fixed line incumbent Empresa Hondurena de Telecomunicaciones (Hondutel), has revealed that Costa Rican operator Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (Grupo ICE) is interested in investing in the state-owned telco, La Tribuna reports. The executive reportedly said that an ICE management delegation will arrive in Honduras shortly to discuss a potential strategic partnership. Further, Mejia noted that the number of Hondutel shares to be sold will depend on the level of resources that potential shareholders are prepared to invest.
As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, the Controlling Commission in charge of the struggling state-owned telco has been on the lookout for a strategic partner for a while; in September 2013 the management revealed a plan to establish a joint venture with a private investor, who ‘could obtain 51% of the stake, while the government retains 22.5% of the shares, 22.5% are distributed between employees and the remaining 4% are publicly owned.’ Despite reports in March 2014 that the company had attracted the attention of an unspecified number of Israeli and French companies, with some of them willing to invest up to USD50 million in the stricken operator, no further developments have been announced since.
