ATIS Group, one of Latin America's leading independent towercos, has inked a deal with Millicom to acquire Lati Paraguay. The towerco will lease the approximately 280 tower sites to Tigo Paraguay on a new 15-year lease.
The final number of towers covered under the leaseback will be determined at the time of closing, which is expected to take place in the near term. This transaction marks another milestone in ATIS’s strategic expansion across the Southern Cone.
Investing in towers in the Southern Cone—particularly Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina—presents a complex but improving opportunity landscape. Uruguay and Paraguay stand out as long-standing, investment-grade economies that offer fiscal and monetary stability. In Paraguay, operators like Telecom (under the Personal brand) have shown strong margins and committed to expanding operations, while American Tower has a sizable footprint following its acquisition of 1,400 sites from Tigo.
Argentina, by contrast, is emerging from a protracted period of macroeconomic instability. However, since late 2023, the country has seen a notable shift. A new, pro-market administration has introduced sweeping reforms that have sharply reduced country risk—by over 75%—and prompted a doubling of asset prices across sovereign bonds and equities. In the telecom space, this has reinvigorated optimism. While Argentina still grapples with inflation and regulatory burdens such as caps on retail pricing, companies like Telecom Argentina have begun deploying 5G sites, and ENACOM is pushing for network expansion in towns over 30,000 people by 2030.
Across the region, strengthening macro fundamentals and growing investor confidence are catalysing capital inflows. While Argentina is still navigating structural hurdles, Uruguay and Paraguay offer near-term stability. Together, they form a Southern Cone region that is increasingly compelling for infrastructure investment.
The Southern Cone, with over 21,000 towers, is Latin America’s third-largest tower market after Brazil and Mexico, offering significant scale. Towerco penetration remains low, with many towers still held by MNOs, presenting clear opportunities for infrastructure investors. Major operators like Claro and Telecom manage the region centrally from Argentina, creating operational synergies. The Southern Cone has a similar number of SIMs per tower as Indonesia (~3,500) compared with half that number in Italy. Combined with a current capacity gap and the early stages of 5G rollout, the region is primed for sustained tower growth.
Juan Pablo Blanco , CEO of ATIS Group said “This acquisition – along with prior ones from Telefónica Uruguay and SBA in Argentina – underscores ATIS’ commitment to the Southern Cone region of Latin America . This important agreement with Tigo is in line with our strategy of long-term partnerships with leading wireless communications operators in the region.” Since the majority acquisition by Towerco Investments LLC in 2022, ATIS has grown from managing 185 sites in Argentina to operating over 1,000 sites across Argentina, Uruguay, and now Paraguay.
Millicom has now made arrangements to dispose of almost all the towers it carved-out into Lati originally. In Colombia sites have been acquired by NexoLATAM to form the towerco Towernex. In Central America SBA Communications inked a deal to acquire its sites. Once the Paraguay deal closes, only Bolivia's towers will remain on the Lati balance sheet.
