A sale of Brazilian operator Oi’s mobile operation to a consortium comprised of Telefonica, Telecom Italia and America Movil’s Claro reached its closing stages, with the trio signing final agreements on the purchase.

In separate stock exchange announcements to their relevant markets, the four parties confirmed contracts had been completed and all that remained was the regulatory nod before Oi’s assets would be split by its three largest rivals.

Oi noted the deal needed to be cleared by Brazil’s competition commission CADE and telecoms regulator Anatel.

The sale comes as the result of an auction held in 2020 where the three bid a total of BRL16.5 billion ($3 billion). The winning parties plan to split Oi’s mobile infrastructure, spectrum licences and customer base between their respective local units.

Cash from the sale will be used to pay debt-laden Oi’s creditors with the exception of a BRL756 million sum paid for so called “transition services”, which allows the operator to support continued operations until they are fully taken over.

Assuming approval is received, it will bring a close to long-running speculation on the ultimate fate of Oi’s mobile operations.

The company has struggled with a mounting debt pile for several years and eventually filed for bankruptcy protection in 2016.