Grupo Werthein, a private holding company that has been doing business in Latin America and internationally, has reached an agreement to acquire AT&T’s Vrio business unit, announced AT&T recently.
Grupo Werthein has agreed to acquire 100% of the equity in Vrio, a leading digital entertainment services company with 10.3 million subscribers1 across 11 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Vrio provides live and on-demand video services via DIRECTV Latin America, SKY Brasil and DIRECTV GO. Vrio’s best-in-class entertainment includes world-class sporting events, international content and exclusive programming. Vrio offers services in Brazil through the SKY brand and in Argentina, Barbados, Chile, Colombia, Curacao, Ecuador, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay through the DIRECTV brand. DIRECTV GO is an over-the-top (OTT) subscription service that offers online access to a variety of live and on-demand programming in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay.
Vrio’s infrastructure includes satellites and state-of-the-art broadcast centers that carry 4K video formats. Vrio’s broadband operations, along with other investments, including Torneos y Competencias in Argentina and WIN Sports in Colombia, will transfer to Grupo Werthein at close.
Until closing, all employees will operate business as usual. AT&T and Grupo Werthein expect that when the transaction closes, substantially all employees who support Vrio’s operations today will transition to Grupo Werthein. AT&T and Grupo Werthein will have transition services agreements in place under which AT&T will provide certain services, such as billing, infrastructure and software support, to Grupo Werthein for one to three years after the transaction closes.
Dario Werthein, Shareholder, Grupo Werthein
Our vision of the future is to maximize these leading entertainment brands in Latin America, maintaining their leadership and increasing their value proposition by investing in technology and content aligned with the viewing habits of each one of the subscribers, including the next generation of consumers.
Lori Lee, CEO AT&T Latin America
This transaction will further allow us to sharpen our focus on investing in connectivity for customers. We remain committed to Latin America through our wireless business in Mexico and services for multinational corporations operating in the region.
