Sur Holdings has warned that its commitment to invest an additional US$100mn in WOM Colombia will depend on regulatory action to ensure smaller operators can compete fairly in a market it considers overly concentrated.
The investment group stepped in to rescue WOM from bankruptcy in January and has since contributed US$40mn. While it expressed confidence in the company’s progress, Sur Holdings stressed that its survival cannot be guaranteed without stronger regulatory conditions.
“Despite our growing confidence in WOM, there remains significant uncertainty about the future of market regulation, which is crucial to preventing duopolies and ensuring a balanced and open telecommunications environment. Despite our notable progress, WOM simply will not survive in a highly concentrated market without robust conditions in place,” said Stan Chudnovsky, partner at Sur Holdings.
Regulators are currently assessing Tigo (Millicom)’s proposed purchase of Movistar Colombia, a transaction that would consolidate the market into three major players. WOM argues such concentration could undermine competition unless corrective measures are imposed.
The operator has asked that any approval of the merger require the combined company to grant WOM free access to 25% of its projected network capacity for at least seven years. Colombia’s Communications Regulation Commission (CRC), in a note to the competition authority SIC, has acknowledged that such measures could help balance the market, pointing to similar remedies adopted in Europe and the United States.
WOM has also urged strict deadlines for technical access, requesting that the merged entity enable 4G radio network sharing within one month and 5G within two months across all municipalities with coverage.
With six million customers in Colombia, WOM has recently reported a turnaround in financial performance. For the first time, it closed the first quarter of 2025 with positive results, posting EBITDA of 60 billion pesos (US$15.3mn) and cash flow of 52 billion pesos. The second quarter also showed improvement, with EBITDA of 36 billion pesos and positive cash flow of 41 billion pesos, a 263% increase compared to the previous quarter.
