BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American Tower Corporation (NYSE: AMT) today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire up to approximately 2,500 towers from Telefónica's Mexican subsidiary, Pegaso PCS, S.A. de C.V., for an agreed upon purchase price of up to approximately $500 million, excluding value added tax. American Tower expects to acquire a substantial majority of the towers during the fourth quarter of 2011, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.
James Taiclet, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of American Tower, said: "We continue to strengthen our relationship with Telefónica, and this acquisition nearly doubles our portfolio in Mexico and provides us with a highly desirable network of sites in this key market. We believe that our experienced local management team will secure strong growth on these towers as our customers in Mexico deploy new spectrum and next generation wireless technologies."
About American Tower
American Tower is a leading independent owner, operator and developer of broadcast and wireless communications sites. American Tower currently owns and operates approximately 40,000 communications sites in the United States, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ghana, India, Mexico, Peru and South Africa. For more information about American Tower, please visit www.americantower.com.
Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements about future events and expectations, or “forward-looking statements,” all of which are inherently uncertain. We have based those forward looking statements on management’s current expectations and assumptions and not on historical facts. Examples of these statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our expectations of the acquisition of certain towers, anticipated closing dates, and the expected cash consideration. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements include market conditions for corporate debt generally, for the securities of telecommunications companies and for our indebtedness in particular. For other important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in our forward-looking statements, we refer you to the information contained in Item 1A of our Form 10-Q for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 under the caption “Risk Factors” and in other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update the information contained in this press release to reflect subsequently occurring events or circumstances.