Telefonica, Motorola Near Deal

Telefonica, Spain’s largest telecommunications company, said it’s close to buying some ofMotorola Inc.’s Mexican wireless-phone assets to gain 1 million subscribers in Latin America’s second-biggest country. Spanish financial newspaper Cinco Dias said Telefonica will pay about $2.6 billion. Telefonica didn’t reveal a price. Motorola is in talks with “several parties” about buying the company’s foreign wireless assets, a spokesman said. Motorola, based in Schaumburg, Ill., rose $2.13 to close at $29.56 on the New York Stock Exchange. Based on the reported price, Madrid-based Telefonica would be paying about $2,200 per customer. That compares with $2,625 to $3,680 typically paid in Europe, said Glen Spencer-Chapman, an analyst at Ibersecurities in Madrid.