Telefonica has pulled the plug on a deal with Portugal Telecom (PT) to buy it out of their Brazilian mobile phone joint venture and may now launch a more hostile attempt to seek control of Vivo. PT had been given a deadline of last Friday to accept Telefonica’s sweetened EUR7.15 billion offer, but the Portugese company responded with a last minute request for an extension to July 28. Telefonica declined PT’s request, stating only that the offer has now “expired.”

A Financial Times (FT) report notes that Telefonica yesterday indicated that it would continue to seek control of Vivo in Brazil, with a spokesman saying the company would “go its own way” on Vivo. The FT claims the Spanish group may now try to dissolve Brasilcel, the joint-owned holding company for Vivo, through international arbitration (this would make it easier to take control of Vivo in the open market). Indeed, Bloomberg reports that Telefonica has already hired a Dutch law firm to help dissolve Brasilcel. Telefonica has reportedly hired De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, the same firm that worked for the two partners to set up Brasilcel.