«With somewhat normal regulation, we would have beaten Slim in Mexico», is a phrase that is reiterated from time to time in the AT&T offices on Paseo de la Reforma. The comment resonates with a hint of resignation in the office led by Mónica Aspe whenever the sale of the company's U.S. operation in Mexico is mentioned. Executives in the sector mention to LPO that the U.S. fund Cerberus, which operates assets of over $60 billion, would be seeking some kind of understanding with Carlos Slim to be able to enter Mexico and not be struck down by the political lobbying power of the country's richest man. Slim was the most favored businessman during the six-year term of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, which was when his fortune grew the most. «In the past, several have tried that negotiation, but no one has succeeded», they say in the sector. The figures for the operation vary and change depending on who you ask, but a figure of around 3,000 million dollars is mentioned. The man from Cerberus for the acquisition of AT&T is Peter Foyo, who was president of Nextel in Mexico for fifteen years. His lobbying in the National Palace has now moved to the government of Claudia Sheinbaum: the owner of Telmex is one of the businessmen most listened to by the president. The strategy would be to propose to Slim that, in addition to AT&T, Cerberus would seek to buy another minor operator and in this way secure a minimal portion of the Mexican market. He is the one who communicates with Slim, although at Carso they hint that Foyo has certain peculiarities that make him not entirely trustworthy. The strongest man in the fund, based in New York, on Third Avenue, is Stephen Feinberg, who retired from the company to be Undersecretary of Defense in the Donald Trump administration. Although Feinberg had to leave the company to avoid conflicts of interest, in the sector there is no doubt that his opinion will weigh in the final instance of the eventual acquisition of AT&T. A gentlemen's pact that would establish immovable quotas for Cerberus under the promise of Slim not to expel the new player from the business.
