Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is planning to create a telecoms giant

Slim's America Movil, Latin America's top cell phone provider, is seeking to buy the Mexican telephone companies Telmex and Telmex Internacional, a company statement said late Wednesday.

“With this consolidation, the company will be able to offer better integrated communication services in the region,” the statement said.

If successful in its offer, America Movil would indirectly acquire 59.4 percent of Telmex's shares and 60.7 percent of those of Telmex Internacional, it added.

The offer represents some 21 billion dollars, according to unconfirmed media reports.

America Movil has some 194 million cell phone clients and 3.8 million fixed line clients in 18 countries of the Americas and the Caribbean, including the United States.

Slim built up the telephone monopoly Telmex after acquiring it from the government in 1990.

“The integration of fixed and mobile telephones is the correct structure in the long term ... France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom and Telecom Italia have made similar mergers,” Mexican bank Banamex said in an analysis Thursday.

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