Telos seeks control of Embratel

Telos, the employee pension find of Brazilian telco Embratel, has announced it is seeking partners to help take control of the company, which MCI put up for sale last month. Telos is reported by BNAmericas to have hired investment bank UBS to structure a deal and find suitable partners; the fund itself plans to contribute 10% of the BRL2.3 billion price tag. Suggested as possible partners include Telmex, Portugal Telecom and three of Brazil’s largest local telephony providers. By law the local incumbents are not be allowed to buy stakes in Embratel, but analysts believe that the law could be circumnavigated. According to local reports, parties interested in buying Embratel are scheduled to deliver their preliminary bids to Lazard Freres, the investment bank nominated by MCI, by midday Thursday, New York time.