NII Holdings

NII Holdings, Inc.

Company type	Public company
Industry	Telecommunications
Predecessor	Nextel International
Founded	1995 (1995)
Defunct	2020
Fate	Dissolved after divesting all subsidiaries and filing Certificate of Dissolution
Headquarters	Reston, Virginia , United States
Area served	Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Philippines)
Key people	Peter Foyo (former president), John McMahon (interim president), Gustavo Cantu (former COO)
Products	Mobile communication services under Nextel brand

NII Holdings, Inc. (previously known as Nextel International) was a United States-based holding company that, through its subsidiary Nextel Telecomunicações Ltda., delivered mobile communication services under the Nextel brand across Latin America. In Brazil, NII operated 3G UMTS/HSDPA and 4G LTE networks and maintained an iDEN network until its termination in 2018.

On , NII completed the divestiture of its Brazilian business, which was its final subsidiary, selling it to América Móvil. Subsequently, on , the company filed a Certificate of Dissolution with Delaware state authorities.

In 2012, NII was listed for the third straight year on both the Fortune 500 and Barron's 500 rankings. Additionally, it earned recognition as one of Latin America's top multinational workplaces by the Great Place to Work Institute.

Following bankruptcy proceedings in 2014 and 2015, NII successfully restructured under a court-approved reorganization plan.

History

NII originated in 1995 as the international division of Nextel Communications, initially operating under the name McCaw International. The entity was renamed Nextel International in 1997. Operations expanded with the launches of Nextel Mexico and Nextel Peru in 1998, followed by Nextel Chile in 2000. The company adopted the NII Holdings name in 2001.

Divestiture of minority interests

In March 2000, NII Holdings sold its 12% minority stake in Shanghai CCT-McCaw Telecommunications Systems after China Unicom highlighted that the financing arrangement conflicted with Chinese regulations. Amid challenging market conditions, NII divested a 21% minority interest in NEXNET Co (Nextel Japan) to Motorola for $10 million in 2001, which resulted in debt forgiveness. That same year, it also sold a 14% holding in Telus Communications for $196 million.

These targeted divestments were part of NII Holdings’ strategy to concentrate on core markets and enhance financial stability during a turbulent period for the global telecommunications sector.

First bankruptcy and reorganization

In December 2001, Nextel Argentina defaulted on a $108 million principal payment and subsequently missed a $41 million interest payment on a $650 million bond in February 2002. To safeguard liquidity and restructure its obligations, NII filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2002 and emerged from it by November that year, with Nextel retaining a 36% ownership stake in the reorganized company. Following this restructuring, NII Holdings began trading on NASDAQ under the ticker NIHD in 2003.

Discontinuation and divestiture of Nextel Philippines

Launched in 1995, Nextel Philippines struggled with poor financial performance and regulatory restrictions linked to local ownership requirements. To preserve cash reserves, NII Holdings halted funding for operations by the end of fiscal year 2001. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2002, it sold its controlling 59.1% interest—including approximately 53,800 subscribers—for $23.5 million to Next Mobile, owned by the Velarde group, thus exiting the Philippine market entirely.

Revisions to Quarterly Reports

On October 27, 2004, NII made corrections to its 2003 annual report filed on Form 10-K as well as its quarterly filings for the first two quarters of 2004 on Form 10-Q to address identified inaccuracies. Later, on March 7, 2005, the company disclosed plans to restate financial results for the entirety of 2003 and the first three quarters of 2004 due to accounting misstatements.

Partnership with Televisa

In February 2010, NII Holdings entered into an agreement with Grupo Televisa wherein Televisa would acquire a 30% ownership interest in Nextel Mexico by investing $1.44 billion in cash. This transaction valued Nextel Mexico at approximately $4.3 billion before the investment. Nevertheless, on October 19, 2010, both parties mutually agreed to terminate the collaboration. Subsequently, Gustavo Cantu, who was serving as vice president and COO for Mexico at that time, shared insights regarding future opportunities in regional content and telecommunications sectors.

Sale of Nextel Operations in Peru and Chile

In August 2013, NII Holdings divested Nextel Peru by selling it to Entel for $400 million. The following year, Nextel Chile was sold to Fucata, S.A., a company later acquired in 2015 by British investment firm Novator Partners. After the acquisition, the Nextel Chile network underwent rebranding and was launched as WOM in July 2015.

Second Bankruptcy Filing and Corporate Restructuring

On January 26, 2015, AT&T agreed to purchase NII Holdings’ wireless operations in Mexico for $1.875 billion USD, less any outstanding net debt, under a Section 363 sale governed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Operational Decline and Leadership Challenges

A report from 2014 identified management shortcomings as factors contributing to Nextel Mexico’s bankruptcy. These included President Peter Foyo relocating to Cancun, a city where the company lacked operational headquarters, with several other executives following his lead. In 2013, Foyo was reassigned as vice president of business development in the United States while John McMahon took over as interim president; COO Gustavo Cantu exited the company the following year.

Nextel Mexico was slow to adapt after Sprint Nextel discontinued its iDEN network in 2012—a move that eliminated Nextel’s main competitive edge of offering free calls to the U.S. The network shutdown also ended Sprint’s roaming service in Northern Mexico, leading to a loss of one million subscribers within a single quarter and reducing the customer base to 2.93 million. Moreover, delays in rolling out 30MHz of spectrum acquired in the 1.7 and 2.1 GHz bands further contributed to declining market share.

Bond Payment Defaults

Confronted with shrinking subscriber numbers and total debt amounting to $5.8 billion USD, NII Holdings failed to make $118.8 million in interest payments due on August 15, 2014. Subsequently, on September 15, 2014, the company initiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings after losing 77,000 subscribers and experiencing a $629 million revenue decline during the previous quarter.

Disposal of Mexican Business Units

On April 30, 2015, NII Holdings finalized the sale of its Mexican wireless operations—held for nearly two decades—for $1.875 billion USD. After settling defaulted debt obligations totaling $350.5 million, the company retained net proceeds of $1.448 billion with plans to fully repay its debtor-in-possession financing obtained in March of that year.

Post-Bankruptcy Developments and Sale of Nextel Argentina

NII Holdings emerged from bankruptcy on June 29, 2015, issuing 100 million new common shares along with $745 million in cash payments to creditors under the former ticker symbol NIHD. In September of the same year, the company divested 49% of its Nextel Argentina subsidiary to Grupo Clarín, narrowing its focus on expanding operations within the Brazilian market. Subsequently, on January 29, 2016, NII Holdings finalized the sale of its remaining stake in Nextel Argentina to Grupo Clarín.

Wireless operations

At present, NII Holdings manages Nextel Brazil, offering postpaid wireless voice and data services. The company's network infrastructure comprises the following:

Radio frequency range	Band number	Generation	Radio Interface	Status
2100 MHz	1	3G	UMTS	Active
800 MHz	27	4G	LTE	Planned
1800 MHz	3	4G	LTE	Deploying

External links

• NII Holdings, Inc.
• Nextel Brazil