Telefónica has taken a major step toward reducing its leverage and getting to a 2.35 net debt/ebitda ratio.
While selling Atento to Bain Capital for 1.039 billion euros will allow Telefónica to cut a fringe project by selling a profitable business, it hardly makes strategic sense for the telecom's core business.
Further, with just one stroke of the pen, Telefónica will cut its payroll by 154,770 workers, doubling earnings per employee to 40,726 euros. The next move is to sell thirty percent of its Germany branch O2 before the end of the year. For this sale, Telefónica will earn another 2.25 billion euros.
With these two deals, Telefónica will surpass market expectations and secure its position as a leading company in Spain.
