New York: America Movil SAB, the mobile-phone company controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim, acquired 30 per cent stakes in two Mexican soccer teams, adding entertainment assets to compete with Grupo Televisa SAB.
The stakes in Club Pachuca and Club Leon were purchased from closely held Grupo Pachuca, according to an e-mailed statement today. Leon, which was promoted to the Mexican soccer league’s top division this season, is in fifth place in the standings, while Pachuca is 13th among 18 teams.
America Movil is stockpiling video content, including sports, to help lure online viewers from Televisa, the world’s largest Spanish-language broadcaster and the owner of Club America, one of Mexico’s most popular soccer teams. Televisa has been encroaching on Slim’s territory by offering home-phone and Internet service and entering the mobile-phone business.
Slim’s company doesn’t have a license to sell pay-TV service in Mexico, instead offering free video online of auto races and events such as the 2011 Pan American Games. America Movil agreed last year to buy DLA Inc, a distributor of movies and TV programs online and on cable systems, for $50 million.
Outside of Mexico, America Movil operates cable and satellite carriers in countries such as Brazil and Colombia. The company represents about 57 per cent of Slim’s $73.3 billion net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
America Movil gained 0.6 per cent to 16.94 pesos at the close in Mexico City, before the soccer acquisitions were announced.
