Liberty LatAm wraps up deal to buy spectrum from EchoStar

EchoStar received a much-needed cash infusion after completing a deal to sell spectrum and approximately 85,000 prepaid customers in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands to Liberty Latin America.

The aggregate asset purchase price of $255 million is to be paid in four annual installments, with the first $95 million paid yesterday (4 September) when the completion was announced.

Liberty Latin America aims to fund the transaction through “local liquidity sources including cash on hand, cash generated from operations and/or revolving credit facilities”.

Balan Nair, president and CEO of Liberty Latin America, said it acquired more than 100MHz of spectrum along with the opportunity “to drive fixed-mobile convergence penetration from current levels of around 25 per cent”.

EchoStar needs to pay off $2 billion in debt maturity by 24 November, but at least one analyst predicts it will go bust.