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AT&T 'intrigued' by Mexico, Latin America : exec

[September 17, 2014]  NEW YORK (Reuters) - AT&T Inc is "intrigued" by Latin America and especially Mexico and would not rule out an opportunistic deal there even as it seeks to complete its $48.5 billion planned takeover of DirecTV, an AT&T executive said at a conference on Tuesday.

AT&T is one of several potential buyers Carlos Slim's America Movil has contacted as it tries to sell a chunk of assets, according to a source familiar with the situation.

AT&T President and Chief Strategy Officer John Stankey declined to comment on a Bloomberg report on the deal but said that if the telecoms group were not looking at Mexico and Latin America, "I think we would be asleep at the wheel and we are not historically known to do that."

"So yes, we are intrigued by it," he said during an investor conference.

Asked if AT&T would consider other acquisitions even as it focuses on gaining final approvals for the DirecTV deal, Stankey said he "wouldn't rule anything out."

"And I think when you are in the M&A game, you learn that you can't always force your timing," he said. "Sometimes timing has to come to you. And exactly how that is going to work

out who knows."

America Movil said in July it would sell part of its Mexican operations to cut its market share below 50 percent and avoid new regulations designed to curb its dominance.

(Reporting By Christian Plumb; editing by Andrew Hay)
 

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