Slim to consolidate telecoms empire

Carlos Slim, the Mexican billionaire, has launched a $21.3 billion bid to consolidate his telecoms empire. América Móvil, the Latin American mobile phone operator that Mr Slim controls, on Wednesday announced it was planning a takeover of the fixed-line phone companies he also controlled. Slim's move looks like a response to rising competition between telecoms companies in Latin America, where América Móvil's main rival is Telefónica of Spain. Vivendi, the French media and telecoms company, is the latest industry player planning to enter the Latin American market by buying GVT, a Brazilian fixed line phone company. Slim is proposing to integrate his telecoms empire of mobile and fixed line companies to sell customers "triple-" and "quadruple-play" bundles of services.