ATIS Group, a digital infrastructure provider in Latin America, announced late last week that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Millicom, a provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications services in Latin America, to acquire Lati Paraguay, a subsidiary owning approximately 300 wireless communications towers in Paraguay.
This transaction, signed on April 26 but only announced in recent days, is described as marking another milestone in ATIS’s strategic expansion across the Southern Cone (the southernmost areas of South America).
As seems to be the norm with many of these agreements, ATIS and Millicom-owned local operator Tigo Paraguay have also entered into a long-term leaseback arrangement, under which ATIS will lease tower infrastructure to Tigo Paraguay to continue supporting its mobile network operations.
The final number of towers covered under the leaseback will be determined at the time of closing, which, say the companies, is expected to take place in the near term.
Juan Pablo Blanco, CEO of ATIS Group, explaining his complay's strategy, says: “ATIS seeks to develop, own and operate best-in-class mission-critical assets such as wireless telecommunications towers.” He continues: “This acquisition – along with prior ones from Telefónica Uruguay and SBA in Argentina – underscores ATIS’ commitment to the Southern Cone region of Latin America. This important agreement with Tigo is in line with our strategy of long-term partnerships with leading wireless communications operators in the region.”
Since the majority acquisition by Towerco Investments LLC in 2022, ATIS has grown from managing 185 sites in Argentina to operating over 1,000 sites across Argentina, Uruguay, and now Paraguay.
