Trilogy International Partners

Trilogy International Partners

Trilogy International Partners was established by a team of wireless industry veterans who previously co-founded Western Wireless International, a pioneer in bringing mobile connectivity to developing economies. That operational DNA — building cellular networks from license to launch — became the firm's investment thesis: acquire or build mobile operators in markets where the combination of low teledensity and favorable regulatory frameworks supports long-duration infrastructure returns. The firm's wealth of experience in spectrum auctions, tower construction, and subscriber acquisition shaped a private equity vehicle that functions more like a holding company than a blind-pool fund. The strategy centers on control-oriented equity investments in wireless network operators, typically in markets across Latin America, the Caribbean, and select parts of the Asia-Pacific region. Trilogy's historical portfolio has included majority stakes in carriers such as 2degrees in New Zealand — a challenger mobile network built from a greenfield license — and Nuevatel PCS de Bolivia, operating under the Viva brand. These are not passive minority positions; the firm installs management teams, negotiates spectrum rights, and oversees network rollout. The investment horizon is patient, matching the capital-intensive build cycles of telecom infrastructure. In addition to direct carrier plays, the firm has explored tower and spectrum-adjacent services where operational control remains possible. Trilogy has maintained a lean structure typical of sector-specialist firms, with its principals and deal teams concentrated in Bellevue, Washington. While total assets under management are not publicly disclosed, the firm's historical investment scale — including a public listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange via a special purpose acquisition vehicle that later consolidated its portfolio — suggests deployment capacity in the hundreds of millions. The 2021 take-private of Trilogy International Partners Inc., the publicly traded entity that held its Bolivian and New Zealand assets, marked a significant corporate event. February 2021: Trilogy completed the sale of its New Zealand subsidiary 2degrees to a joint venture of Vocus Group and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, netting proceeds that reshaped the firm's balance sheet (per the firm's official statements, 2021). The subsequent acquisition of the public company by a group of its own executives and directors returned the firm to a fully private operating model. The structural differentiator is Trilogy's deep operator-centric approach to private equity — a model closer to an industrial holding company than a traditional commingled fund. Where most emerging-market PE firms diversify across sectors and rely on local partners for operational management, Trilogy's founding team ran the cellular businesses they backed. This operational intensity concentrates geographic and sector risk but also gives the firm proprietary insight into spectrum licensing processes, regulatory negotiation, and network economics that generalist investors cannot replicate. The recent going-private transaction has positioned the principals for a second act, with the operational team intact and the flexibility to pursue new wireless opportunities without the quarterly disclosure constraints of a public listing.