BTL Confirms Negotiations Ongoing but No SMART Deal Signed

Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) has firmly rejected claims by the opposition, the United Democratic Party (UDP), that a deal to acquire Speednet/SMART is being finalized today. According to BTL Chairman Mark Lizarraga, no agreement has been reached, and discussions remain at the level of talks and negotiations.  Speaking at a press conference hosted by BTL this morning, Lizarraga explained that while BTL is pursuing a potential buy-over of Speednet (SMART), several hurdles remain. Among them are issues raised by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), which must be addressed before any transaction could move forward.

Mark Lizarraga, Chairman: “The conversations have been happening in the industry, and I must say the industry players have not changed since 2018. Same players in the industry from then. So conversations continued over the years informally and then finally the conversations became more perhaps at our insistence because as we were beginning to go through our budget process and our budget exercises just started early, we saw the opportunity for us to look you know the numbers just make sense. So we started these conversations and as a part of the due process we’ve engaged an external and auditing firm with a lot of experience in the in the LATAM area. All of this information has been compiled and over the last week we’ve been meeting individually and in groups exposing, because it’s a lot of material, exposing directors to these these proposals of this potential opportunity. And that process is continuing and it will continue today. But because some people in the press have access to information that is not always accurate, we thought it best to try and bring you the real facts today, the process continues, and when that process comes to an end, we would be coming back to you all.”

Lizarraga stressed that BTL has been deliberately tightly lipped on the details of the negotiations, citing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) between the parties, which legally restricts what can be shared publicly at this stage.

Mark Lizarraga, Chairman: “You must appreciate that a transaction of this nature has to be private. You’re talking about private components engaging in negotiations. BTL is a private company, the components we’re dealing with are private components. And you have what you call NDAs, non-disclosure agreements, which bind us and I wish the press would be subjected to some NDAs as well. But directors of our company, directors of our company, including ourselves, we are bound by our NDAs. So we can’t discuss these things. What we can discuss are the results. And I’ve taken this liberty today to share with you the process so that you can hopefully appreciate it and put a positive spin to it. What we’re proposing falls under the remit of the PUC and we have had conversations with the PUC telling them why we’re proposing to do what it is that we’re proposing to do. Granted we have our own interests and why we’re doing it because we have a duty to the company and the performance of the company and the shareholders as well as the employees as well as the consumers who are our owners as well. So we have to take care of everybody. Now, the PUC has concerns, and I’ll tell you one of the concerns they have is that the legislation is not current for the monopoly situation, if that’s what you want to call it. For the single player,  single national player, different. And we have said to them, we’re absolutely prepared to stabilize prices, right? And wait for you to have your legislation in order. No drastic changes. We’re not in this for one or two years. It’s a long-term investment.”

Despite the absence of a finalized deal, Lizarraga outlined the framework being discussed. The proposed transaction is valued at approximately $170 million, with about $90 million attributed to the cable companies and $80 million linked to Speednet/SMART. He said BTL’s interest is driven by the need to better utilize its existing bandwidth and infrastructural capacity.  Under the proposal, Lizarraga explained, the core of the acquisition would center on subscribers, along with tangible assets and equipment, rather than simply absorbing competing brands.