NII Holdings announces completion of $50 million investment by AINMT for 30% stake in Nextel Brazil

RESTON, Va., July 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- NII Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NIHD) ("NII") and AINMT Holdings AB ("AINMT"), an international telecommunications company and parent of the Norwegian operator ice, the fastest growing mobile network operator in Norway, announced today that AINMT completed its first investment of $50 million for a 30% stake in Brazilian mobile telecommunications company Nextel Brazil.

As previously announced, AINMT has an option, exercisable by November 15, 2017, to invest an additional $150 million in Nextel Holdings S.à r.l. (the "Company"), which owns Nextel Brazil (the "Second AINMT Investment"). If this option is exercised, AINMT's total $200 million equity investment would result in a 60% controlling stake in the Company. If AINMT exercises its option, the closing of the Second AINMT Investment is subject to receipt of certain third-party consents and other conditions, including amendment of Nextel Brazil's credit facilities and release and substitution of certain existing guarantees, receipt of regulatory and antitrust approvals, and approval from NII's stockholders. If AINMT elects to exercise its option, NII will ask its stockholders to vote in favor of the transaction.

If AINMT exercises its option, the closing of the Second AINMT Investment must be completed by January 31, 2018. NII anticipates, assuming AINMT's exercise of the option and receipt of the necessary consents and satisfaction of conditions, that the Second AINMT Investment will close during the first quarter of 2018. At that time, NII is expected to hold a 40% stake in the Company, and Nextel Brazil would have an enhanced financial profile to pursue a newly developed commercial strategy that contemplates continued investments in Nextel Brazil's key markets with a focus on expanding its subscriber base.

About NII Holdings, Inc.

NII Holdings, Inc., a publicly held company based in Reston, Virginia, is a provider of differentiated mobile communication services for businesses and high value consumers in Brazil. NII, operating under the Nextel brand, offers fully integrated wireless voice services, data services and wireless Internet access. Visit NII's website at www.nii.com.

Visit NII's news room for news and to access our market's news center: www.nii.com/newsroom.

About Nextel Brazil

Nextel Brazil provides wireless communication services under the Nextel^TM brand in Brazil with principal operations located in major urban and suburban centers with high population densities and related transportation corridors of the country where there is a concentration of Brazil's business users and economic activity, notably Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

About AINMT 

AINMT is an international telecommunications company. Its focus is wireless data communication services, the fastest growing business segment within the telecom sector. AINMT's Norwegian operation, ice.net, is Norway's third largest mobile network operator and fastest growing provider of voice and wireless data services operating on 4G-only networks for smartphones and mobile broadband. Today, the company is well established in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Denmark) and has recently launched 4G networks in Indonesia and the Philippines. For more information, visit www.ainmt.com

About Access Industries

Access Industries is a privately held, U.S.-based industrial group with global strategic investments. Founded in 1986 by Len Blavatnik, an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, the group is headquartered in New York, with offices in London and Moscow.  Access invests in industries where it can maximize long-term value by developing regional and global leaders.  Its industrial focus spans four key sectors: natural resources and chemicals; media and telecommunications; real estate and hospitality; and venture capital. For more information, visit www.accessindustries.com.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

In the event AINMT exercises the option to invest an additional $150 million in the Company in the second stage of the transaction, NII Holdings Inc. intends to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") a proxy statement in connection with that contemplated transaction. The definitive proxy statement will be sent to NII's stockholders and will contain important information about the contemplated transaction. INVESTORS AND STOCKHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY THE PROXY STATEMENT AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE. Investors and stockholders may obtain a free copy of the proxy statement (when it is available) and other documents filed with the SEC at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

Certain Information Concerning Participants

In the event AINMT exercises the option to invest an additional $150 million in the Company in the second stage of the transaction, NII and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from stockholders of NII in connection with the contemplated transaction. Information about NII's directors and executive officers is set forth in its proxy statement for its 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and its most recent annual report on Form 10-K. These documents may be obtained for free at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Additional information regarding the interests of participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the contemplated transactions will be included in the proxy statement that NII intends to file with the SEC in the event AINMT exercises its option in the second stage of the transaction.

Safe Harbor Statement

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This news release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the securities laws. The statements in this news release regarding the partnership in Nextel Brazil, including the successful completion of the partnership, the ownership of NII and AINMT in the partnership and the cash available to be invested through the partnership in Nextel Brazil; amendments to financing arrangements; Nextel Brazil's business and economic outlook; Nextel Brazil's future performance and forward-looking guidance, as well as other statements that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are estimates and projections reflecting management's judgment based on currently available information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. With respect to these forward-looking statements, management has made assumptions regarding, among other things, NII's ability to complete the proposed transaction in a timely fashion or at all, including receiving the required regulatory and stockholder approvals and the amount of cash available to NII to invest in the partnership, NII's ability to modify its loan and other agreements as required to complete the transaction, NII's ability to meet its business plans, customer growth and retention, pricing, network usage, operating costs, the timing of various events, the economic and regulatory environment and the foreign currency exchange rates that will prevail during 2017. Future performance cannot be assured and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include the risks and uncertainties relating to: the consummation of the partnership in the expected timeframe, if at all, the impact of liquidity constraints, including the ability to access escrowed and pledged funds when expected, the ability to reach agreement with lenders on amendments to the terms of financing arrangements, the ability to satisfy the conditions of the partnership, the impact of more intense competitive conditions and changes in economic conditions in Brazil, the performance of Nextel Brazil's networks, the ability to provide services that customers want or need, the ability of NII to continue as a going concern, NII's ability to execute its business plan for Nextel Brazil, and the additional risks and uncertainties that are described in NII's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2016, as well as in other reports filed from time to time by NII with the SEC. This press release speaks only as of its date, and NII disclaims any duty to update the information herein.

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SOURCE NII Holdings, Inc.