Mexico mogul Slim secures Olympics broadcast rights

Carlos Slim, the telecoms tycoon and world's richest man, has secured Latin America broadcast rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games, sending shares of his America Movil wireless phone company sharply higher on Friday. The company announced late Thursday that America Movil had snagged the rights to the coveted quadrennial winter games, which will be held in Sochi, Russia next year, as well as the 2016 summer games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His company, also known as AMX, the leading provider of wireless services in the region, "has acquired broadcast rights on all media platforms across Latin America." International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge, in a statement on AMX's website, called the deal an "important agreement to ensure fans across the continent are able to have the best broadcast experience of the games." Richard Carrion, the IOC's finance commission chairman, said "the agreement ensures there will continue to be free Olympic Games television coverage across Latin America, but also allows viewers the choice of following the action on other media platforms as well." Slim, who also controls and retail/industrial group Grupo Carso, earlier this month came in first place on an annual list of the mega-rich compiled by Forbes magazine, with a fortune pegged at about $73 billion -- up $4 billion from a year ago. His America Movil has 261.6 million wireless subscribers across the Americas, and approximately 64.1 million landline customers. America Movil did not disclose what they paid for the rights, but the announcement that it had acquired Olympics broadcast rights sent its stock soaring. At around 1030 local time, (1630 GMT) the company's shares were up 2.10 percent over the previous day's close.