Qualcomm Buys 50% Stake in Chilesat

Telex-Chile has sold half of its mobile telephone unit to San Diego-based Qualcomm Inc. for $42 million. “Qualcomm . . . made a capital contribution of $42 million in cash to Chilesat in exchange for a share of 50% in the company,” Telex said in a statement. Santiago, Chile-based Telex said it will use Qualcomm’s technology to build a national personal telephone network. Telex has long been looking for an alliance with a heavyweight foreign partner to help it compete in Chile’s deregulated long-distance market. Telex had been the only large local telecommunications firm not to have linked up with a foreign company. Compania de Telecomunicaciones de Chile, the country’s largest carrier, is about 43%-owned by Spain’s Telefonica de Espana. Qualcomm’s shares rose $1.75 to close at $58.50 in Nasdaq trading, while American depositary receipts of Telex-Chile were unchanged at $5.875 on the New York Stock Exchange.