Telefonica is considering selling its Venezuelan subsidiary, Telefonica Venezolana C.A., which operates under the Movistar Venezuela brand, within the next 12 months, according to a Bloomberg report.

The Spanish operator has already received unsolicited approaches from potential buyers, the news agency reported. Preliminary discussions took place with Miami-based private equity firm LARA Fund, although those talks did not progress to a deal.

Telefonica is now reportedly waiting for more favourable conditions before launching a formal sale process. Bloomberg's sources said the operator wants to assemble several potential bidders rather than court a single buyer — a strategy designed to strengthen its negotiating position. The sources also noted the operator could ultimately decide not to sell the unit at all, which leaves the timing and outcome of any process open.

Any transaction faces an unusual political hurdle: a deal will need the backing of both the US and Venezuelan governments. Washington maintains sweeping sanctions on Caracas, and any transfer of ownership in a Venezuelan telecom asset would require clearance on both sides — a condition that few prospective buyers can easily satisfy and one that helps explain why early talks with LARA Fund stalled.

The Venezuelan review fits a pattern Telefonica has followed across the region. The operator has spent recent years winding down operations across most of Latin America to concentrate capital and management attention on its core markets in Europe and Brazil.

The divestment tally is already substantial. In 2025 Telefonica sold its Ecuador unit to Millicom for $380 million. That deal followed a separate $440 million agreement between the two companies for Telefonica's operation in Uruguay. Millicom, which has been consolidating Central and South American assets, is an obvious candidate to watch should Telefonica succeed in creating a competitive auction for the Venezuelan business — although Bloomberg's report names no bidder beyond LARA Fund.

For Telefonica, exiting Venezuela would remove one of its last and most complicated footholds in a region where currency controls, hyperinflation and sanctions have made earnings difficult to repatriate. The subsidiary's financial contribution is not disclosed in the report, and no valuation for a potential sale has surfaced.

The 12-month window gives Telefonica room to test market appetite without committing to a process. If conditions align — multiple bidders, US and Venezuelan government approval — a sale would complete another step in the operator's retreat from Latin America outside Brazil.