The Colombian divisison of Telefonica SA is planning to conduct a share sale as early as the end of 2013. The telecommunications firm initially suspended an initial public offering of all of its assets in Latin America.

The transaction was confirmed by individuals familiar with the transaction who spoke on condition of anonymity. There is still the matter of Colombian government approval for the IPO to push through, as the state owns the remaining shares of the local subsidiary.

Telefonica is the largest telephone company in Spain is on a selling spree to remove Eur4.3 billion or US$5.6 billion in debt. With the IPO, nearly Eur500 million can be raised with nearly 19% of shareholdings to be sold off. 

Earlier this month, executives of Telefonica had met with government officials of Colombia to discuss the possible IPO. The services offered by the subsidiary include fixed telephone services, mobile and Internet services, Pay TV and reported an EBITDA profit of Eur607 million in 2012 on sales outlay of Eur1.77 billion.