AT&T announces the sale of Vrio, the controller of Sky Brasil, to Werthein Group

AT&T announced this Wednesday, 21, that it will sell Vrio, its Latin American services operator that controls Sky Brasil and Directv. The provider will be acquired by Grupo Werthein, an Argentine conglomerate. The two companies expect the transaction to be completed in early 2022. The Werthein Group has agreed to acquire 100% of the equity of Vrio, which has 10.3 million subscribers in 11 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Because of the transaction, AT&T classified the Vrio as “held for sale” on June 30 and recorded the corresponding group of assets at fair value less cost to sell. This resulted in a loss of $4.6 billion, including $2.1 billion related to the cumulative translation of foreign currency settlements.

In addition to operating in Brazil through Sky and providing services to other countries in the region via DirecTV, Vrio also has Directv Go, a streaming service.

“Our vision for the future is to maximize these leading entertainment brands in Latin America, maintain their leadership and increase value propositions, and invest in technology and content aligned with the consumption habits of each of our customers, including the next generation of consumers,” says Dario Werthen, Group Contributor. Worthen, in a statement.

According to AT&T Latin America CEO, Lori Lee, the telecom company remains committed to the region through its wireless business in Mexico, as well as services to multinational companies operating in Los Angeles.

AT&T released its balance sheet for the second quarter of 2021 on Thursday 22nd. During this period, the US carrier’s revenue from Vrio services was $749 million, roughly flat year-over-year.