Spring has sprung, the weather’s finally warming up, and the telecoms industry’s powerbrokers are getting hot under the collar—with deals galore taking place in April!
This month’s round-up of mergers and acquisitions includes major takeovers across the globe, as well as an eye-watering satellite power-play, which is quite literally out of this world!
Welcome to the M&A Monthly from TeleGeography's GlobalComms team, where we track the deals that keep the world connected.(Read last month's M&A Monthly here.)
Satellite operators
Starting with the month’s biggest deal: Amazon.com and Globalstar entered into a definitive merger agreement under which the Jeff Bezos-backed web giant will acquire the satellite firm in a deal worth in excess of $11.5 billion!
The deal will enable Amazon Leo to add direct-to-device (D2D) services to its in-deployment Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network. In addition, Amazon and Apple—which holds a 20% stake in Globalstar—have announced an agreement for Amazon Leo to power satellite services for iPhone and Apple Watch, including an ‘Emergency SOS’ service via satellite.
While the takeover has been pitched as a way for Amazon to erode Starlink’s dominance in the LEO sector, Globalstar currently has just 24 satellites in orbit—more than 10,000 fewer than Starlink.
Sticking with the satellite sector, Elon Musk’s deep-pocketed SpaceX—which had been strongly linked with a rival bid for Globalstar—filed confidential paperwork for its planned initial public offering (IPO). The company expects to stage the IPO in June this year and Musk aims to raise between $50 billion and $75 billion, which would make it the largest IPO Wall Street has ever seen.
A confidential filing means that SpaceX’s financials aren’t disclosed until further down the line and Musk—the world’s richest man—can avoid public scrutiny of his business affairs for a little while longer.
Americas
At the more speculative end of the scale, T-Mobile US and private equity firm TPG Capital are said to be mulling takeover bids for fiber assets owned by Uniti Group, the infrastructure firm that absorbed notable ISP Windstream on 1 August 2025. T-Mobile is believed to be interested in Uniti’s Kinetic-branded fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) business, while TPG’s eyeing Uniti’s enterprise fiber business. Alternatively, the two parties are also considering teaming up for an offer for the entire company.
South of the border, Telefonica’s Latin America exit strategy continued at pace in April, with the Madrid-based group finally agreeing to offload its Mexican business. To facilitate the deal, US-based Telecom-as-a-Service (TaaS) solutions provider OXIO has teamed up with Newfoundland Capital Management, which describes itself as a ‘pan–Latin American boutique investment firm’.
The transaction is valued at a modest $450 million, less than half the figure quoted when Telefonica first sought a buyer for the unit in 2018.
Sticking with Latin America, debt-wracked Brazilian telco Oi managed to scrape together another batch of assets to add to its ongoing ‘fire sale’. The 7th Business Court of the Rio de Janeiro Capital District has approved a proposal from Belo Horizonte-based Metodo to acquire Oi’s remaining fixed voice assets – named UPI Servicos Telefonicos for the purpose of the planned sale.
The deal, which is worth just R$60.1 million ($11.6 million), will barely touch the sides of Oi’s gaping debt chasm. That said, the planned sale of B2B unit UPI Oi Solucoes stands to rake in a healthier fee of R$1.417 billion.
Over in Colombia, the reconfiguration of the market landscape is nearly complete, with the Colombian government finalizing the sale of its 32.5% stake in Colombia Telecomunicaciones (ColTel)—the holding company that owns a majority stake in Telefonica Colombia (Movistar)—to Millicom International Cellular (MIC), via a sale conducted via the Bolsa de Valores de Colombia (BVC).
Millicom snapped up Telefonica’s 67.5% stake in the full-service telco in February this year, and eventually aims to merge Telefonica Colombia with its own Une EPM Telecomunicaciones (Tigo Colombia) business.
Europe
Shifting our attention to Europe, investment firms Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, DigitalBridge, KKR and Vauban Infrastructure Partners have all been shortlisted as they jostle to secure a 50.01% controlling stake in French fiber venture XpFibre. The stake was put up for sale earlier this year by Altice France (SFR), which is controlled by Next Alt, the holding company helmed by cash-strapped billionaire Patrick Drahi. Mr Drahi hopes the sale will generate €6 billion-€8 billion ($7.0 billion-$9.3 billion) and ease his cashflow worries.
Running in parallel, French telcos Orange, Bouygues Telecom and Iliad (Free) have upped their joint offer to acquire most of the assets of rival Altice France, from €17 billion, which Drahi’s group rejected in October 2025, to €20.35 billion. Exclusive negotiations regarding the three-way carve-up remain ongoing.
Over in Germany, Bonn-based powerhouse Deutsche Telekom (DT) is considering a full combination with its subsidiary T-Mobile US. The German firm is said to be evaluating the creation of a new holding company that would acquire the stock of both businesses. The combined entity could then seek a listing in the US, and also with a major European stock exchange. However, talks are said to be in the early stages, meaning they could collapse, or the terms could change significantly.
Romania-based Digi Communications has suspended plans for an IPO of its Spanish subsidiary, DIGI Spain, citing market instability stemming from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. In a press release, the company noted that early exploratory discussions regarding a potential IPO had yielded a ‘very positive’ investor response, with the market actively recognizing DIGI Spain’s growth prospects and the value of its current corporate strategy.
Orange Group has received authorization from the government of Spain to acquire the 50% it doesn’t already own in Spanish operator MasOrange. The planned transaction’s valued at EUR4.25 billion (USD4.99 billion).
Elsewhere, the European Commission (EC) has cleared the proposed acquisition of Telecom Italia’s (TIM’s) international cable business Sparkle by a consortium involving Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and Spanish-owned Italian wholesale network operator Retelit.
The €700 million ($820 million) deal—agreed twelve months ago—will see the consortium acquire Sparkle’s submarine cable landing stations and backhaul networks.
Rest of the world
Over in Asia, Companhia de Telecomunicacoes de Macau (CTM) has completed its HK$110 million ($14 million) takeover of rival mobile operator Hutchison 3 Macau. The quick-fire deal was agreed in January this year.
Finally, in Zimbabwe, struggling state-backed mobile operator Telecel Zimbabwe is looking for investors to help it exit its court-sanctioned corporate rescue process. Potential investors have been invited to submit offers, although corporate rescue practitioners opted not to reveal further details, including the value of the company. Telecel entered the rehabilitation process in October to help ‘restore financial health and operational viability’.
That concludes this month’s M&A Monthly round-up from the GlobalComms team. Are we in for a sizzling summer of big-money deals, or will it be a damp squib for the dealmakers? Watch this space!
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