The story
Founded by Jan Stenbeck in 1979.1
Millicom International Cellular SA was established on 14 December 1990, by Shelby Bryan, Jan Stenbeck, Telma Sosa, and Olvin Galdamez, combining the cellular telephone properties owned by Industriförvaltnings AB Kinnevik and Millicom Incorporated. Millicom has legal domicile in Luxembourg with a United States corporate office in Miami and operational bases at Plaza Tigo, Guatemala and Medellín, Colombia. Through the Tigo and Tigo Business brands, Millicom provides digital services, including high-speed data, broadband, mobile, cable TV, voice and SMS, Mobile Financial Services, and business communications. Millicom operates in nine Latin American markets, including Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Paraguay.
After two years of planning, the company began operations when the founders completed a $131,000 share purchase in May 1982. The firm took over paging company Meta Systems in October 1982 and then raised $9 million in its first round of financing, managed by chief executive officer, Orhan Sadik-Khan and Kevin Kimberlin. Since 92% of the world population had no phone service at the time, Millicom promoted mobile technology on a global basis. To do this, Millicom created joint-ventures with local and strategic partners. On 13 December 1982, a joint-venture with Racal Electronics was awarded a cellular license for the United Kingdom. To enable Millicom to earn its 10% royalty from Racal-Millicom, a controlling shareholder, Stenbeck commissioned a startup with three employees, Technophone, to develop the world's first pocket-sized mobile phone. Highlighting its plans to offer the Voice and Data phone (predecessor to the smartphone), his Racal-Millicom joint-venture was renamed Vodafone.
On 12 October 1983, Millicom Inc. created China Telecom Systems (HK), a joint-venture with partners China Resources Ltd. and Comvik, a Swedish mobile firm also controlled by Jan Stenbeck. China Telecom Systems (HK) held the first cellular telephone contract in China, making its service available to the public on 20 May 1985. In December 1989, Millicom set up Microtel Communications Ltd. by teaming up with Pacific Telesis and British Aerospace (later bought out by Hutchison Telecom.) Microtel was awarded a personal communication network (PCN) license to compete with Vodafone in the United Kingdom, a service launched on 28 April 1994 under its brand name, Orange. This venture was acquired in October 1999, at which time Orange and its new parent, Mannesmann, were in turn both taken over by Vodafone. At a value of $202 billion, the takeover of Mannesmann by Vodafone was the largest transaction in corporate history. Orange (formerly Microtel) was then sold to France Telecom, which subsequently changed its corporate name to Orange.
To better manage their respective mobile interests, Millicom Inc. combined with Comvik's international cellular operations to become Millicom International Cellular SA in 1990, which now operates under the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. In 2000, Millicom started investing in three continents: Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In 2004, Millicom conceptualized the TIGO brand. In 2008, Millicom acquired AMNET for fixed Internet and TV services, leading to the company's formal cable business entrance. Millicom completed the sale of its Asian business segment in 2011 with the sale of Laos. It previously operated in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. With the sale of its last remaining Asian operation, Millicom shifted its focus to Latin America and Africa.
Millicom launched its first 4G high-speed internet services in Colombia in 2014, followed by Bolivia later in the year, and the remaining markets soon after. In 2014, Millicom launched the TIGO Sports Television channel in Paraguay and Bolivia.
In 2012, Millicom partnered with UNICEF to protect children's rights, later renewing the partnership in 2020 to cover child online protection, and as virtual education gained prominence during the COVID-19 global pandemic. In 2016, Millicom partnered with Microsoft to provide cloud services to its Tigo Business customers in eight markets in Latin America. In 2017, Millicom launched TIGO ONEtv, the first Next Generation TV (NGTV) service for LATAM customers, integrating traditional linear television content with over-the-top platforms, as well as video on-demand. In 2018, Millicom acquired Cable Onda in Panama. In 2019, Millicom expanded its Latin American presence, acquiring subsidiaries of Telefónica in Central America (Panama and Nicaragua). In addition, in 2019, Millicom common shares started trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market in the United States under the symbol TIGO. The new listing complemented the company's existing Swedish Depository Receipt (SDR) listing on Nasdaq Stockholm.
In October 2020, Millicom became the first mobile operator in Latin America to introduce Amazon Prime Video Mobile Edition.
In April 2021, Millicom partnered with Amazon Web Services to expand and integrate its managed and professional services into its cloud services portfolio in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia.
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That same month, Millicom announced the sale of its operations in Tanzania and for its stake in the AirtelTigo joint venture in Ghana, completing its multi-year plan to divest its African operations and focus on its Latin American markets.
In 2023, Apollo Global Management and Marcelo Claure held discussions with Millicom regarding a potential acquisition of all outstanding shares of the company. The discussions have been terminated on 16 June 2023.
At the same time, French billionaire Xavier Niel built a 25.02% stake in Millicom through his company Atlas Investissement, making him the company's main shareholder. Following the acquisition of the stake in the company, three new directors appointed by Atlas Investissement joined the company's board of directors in May 2023: Michaël Golan, former CEO of Iliad, Nicolas Jaeger, CFO of Iliad, and Thomas Reynaud, CEO of Iliad.
In September 2023, former Iliad SA CEO Maxime Lombardini became the company's COO. This appointment introduced a new management style to the group: significant headcount reductions, lower capital expenditure, standardization of network and frequency usage charges.
In March 2025, the Millicom SDR was delisted from Nasdaq Stockholm as the company wanted to consolidate the trading of its shares onto one single exchange, the Nasdaq Stock Market in the United States.
In May 2025, Millicom announced a definitive agreement to acquire Telefónica's operations in Uruguay for US$440 million, reinforcing its presence in South America and expanding its customer base and spectrum holdings in a market where it already leads in mobile services.
In June 2025, Millicom signed a US$380 million agreement to acquire Telefónica's operations in Ecuador, a dollarized economy with a favorable macroeconomic outlook and growing digital ecosystem. The acquisition enhances Millicom's regional scale and strengthens its long-term growth strategy in Latin America.
From Wikipedia’s article on Millicom, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7