Source: BellSouth to announce agreement to sell Latin America operations

<br>ATLANTA (AP) _ BellSouth Corp. plans to announce Monday that it has had sold all its Latin America operations to Spanish telecommunications giant Telefonica SA in a deal expected to be worth at least

Monday, March 8th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ATLANTA (AP) _ BellSouth Corp. plans to announce Monday that it has had sold all its Latin America operations to Spanish telecommunications giant Telefonica SA in a deal expected to be worth at least $5.8 billion, a source close to the talks said Sunday night.

The agreement was signed over the weekend, the source said on the condition of anonymity. No further details were immediately available.

The proceeds of the sale could help BellSouth pay for its share of Cingular Wireless' $41 billion offer to buy AT&T Wireless last month.

BellSouth, which owns 40 percent of Cingular, has a $16 billion share. SBC Communications of San Antonio, which owns the other 60 percent, must come up with the rest.

Telefonica is the largest telecommunications operator in Spain and South America.

BellSouth currently serves 10.5 million customers in Latin America after previously selling its Brazilian operations.

BellSouth Corp.'s strong presence in Latin America has bucked a trend in the last few years that has seen some other major U.S. telecom companies reduce their exposure there amid economic and political turmoil in the region.