Copaco to take full control of Vox on Aug 6

Paraguay's state-owned telco Copaco expects to take full control of Japanese-financed mobile operator Hola Paraguay, known as Vox, on August 6, local press reported company president Mario Esquivel as saying. The acquisition was announced earlier in the month. Copaco said it has paid US$3mn to acquire Vox operation, including network infrastructure, licenses and facilities. Esquivel also said Copaco needed to enter the mobile telephony segment due to the decline in the fixed telephony market. According to the government, Copaco expects to reach approximately 500,000 mobile telephony subscribers in the first year of operation. Paraguay's other mobile operators are Telecel, a unit of Luxembourg-based Millicom (Nasdaq: MICC); Personal, a unit of Telecom Argentina (NYSE: TEO); and Claro, a unit of Mexican giant America Movil (NYSE: AMX).