The deal would value the company at US$10 billion, including debt according to a report from the Financial Times.
In a statement, Millicom said: “As a response to market speculation, the Board of Directors of Millicom International Cellular S.A. confirms that a potential acquisition of all outstanding shares in Millicom is being discussed with Apollo Global Management and Claure Group.
“There is no certainty that a transaction will materialise nor as to the terms, timing or form of any potential transaction.”
Apollo and Claure will reportedly structure their bid in a way that would avoid them repaying or refinancing around US$6.9 billion worth of debt.
Last year, Apollo completed the US$7.5 billion acquisition of Lumen’s Brightspeed unit.
That deal made Brightspeed the fifth largest independent local exchange carrier (ILEC) in the US, covering more than 6.5 million locations in mainly rural and suburban communities across the mid-west, south-east and part of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Claure Group, the third party in the negotiations is spearheaded by Marcelo Claure, the former Softbank executive.
Claure founded Brightstar in the late 1990s before selling the business to the Japanese company in 2014 for US$1.5 billion.
Millicom shares jumped around 19% following confirmation of the negotiations.
