Telefónica has officially confirmed the sale of its entire stake in its Mexican cellular business, Movistar, to Melissa Acquisition LLC for $450 million. The deal marks the Spanish telecommunications giant's formal exit from the Mexican market, a move consistent with its long-standing strategy to divest from Latin American assets while maintaining focus on core markets in Brazil, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
According to reports from Xataka Mexico, the purchasing consortium is led by cloud-based telecommunications firm OXIO Inc. and the investment firm Newfoundland Capital Management. The sale remains subject to approval from Mexican regulatory bodies, specifically the Comisión Reguladora de Telecomunicaciones (CRT) and the Comisión Nacional Antimonopolio (CNA).
This divestment follows a protracted effort by Telefónica to shed its Mexican operations, a process that began in 2020 under then-president José María Álvarez-Pallete. Earlier rumors of a potential sale to Virgin Mobile, backed by Beyond ONE, failed to materialize in early 2026 after reports suggested that deal had collapsed.
A long-delayed exit
The path to this sale was cleared in February 2026 after Movistar successfully won a $280 million tax litigation case against the Sistema de Administración Tributaria (SAT). Expansión reported that this legal victory removed significant financial obstacles that had previously hindered the sale.
Telefónica had struggled for over six years to find a buyer for its Mexican subsidiary. The company faced an increasingly complex market environment, characterized by intense competition and regulatory pressures that forced it to divest its spectrum licenses and infrastructure assets to stabilize its financial position.
While details regarding the new owner, Melissa Acquisition LLC, remain limited, industry experts suggest the acquisition may signal a shift for Movistar toward operating strictly as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO). Movistar already relies on AT&T's last-mile infrastructure, an agreement that was extended through 2030 in 2024.
Despite the change in ownership, current Movistar users in Mexico are expected to retain their service continuity. Analysts emphasize that existing contracts and mobile lines remain protected under the transition.
