América Móvil pulls out of Spanish spectrum auction

Mexican mobile holding company América Móvil (NYSE: AMX) has withdrawn from a frequency auction in Spain but says it is still interested in entering that market, international press reported. The company said it is still interested in acquiring spectrum from other operators to function as a "virtual operator" as it does in the US, the newspaper said. Top executives of the Mexico City-based company, including controlling shareholder and honorary chairman Carlos Slim, unveiled their interest in the Spanish market on May 4 during a meeting with analysts and investors, saying the company had already purchased the bidding rules to compete for one of three 15-year GSM licenses. Thursday was the deadline for confirming interest in the auction. América Móvil's financial vice president Carlos Garcia Moreno reportedly told press in Miami that the company believed there was not room for a fourth operator. There has been speculation over the last month that Slim may try to enter the Spanish mobile market by acquiring Amena, Spain's third largest wireless operator, which is up for sale, or Xfera SA, which never began operations after receiving a license in March 2000. The Spanish government is set to announce the winners of the mobile spectrum before June 20. The industry ministry said that 12 companies had obtained bidding rules.