Vivo

Vivo, known as Vivo Brazil, is a telecommunications brand operating in Brazil. It is a subsidiary of Telefónica Brasil, which in turn is a subsidiary of the global telecommunications company, Telefónica. Vivo's headquarters are located in the Brooklin Novo neighbourhood of São Paulo. The company's origins trace back to Telebrás, a state-owned telecom monopoly. In 1998, Telebrás was demerged and privatised, with Telefónica acquiring Telesp, the São Paulo division. This division was rebranded to Telefónica, and then subsequently rebranded to Vivo on 15 April 2012. Vivo was officially launched as a brand on 13 April 2003, starting as a mobile phone service provider. The brand was a result of the merger of several Brazilian mobile phone operations under a joint venture equally owned by Portugal Telecom (PT) and Telefónica. In 2006, the group was consolidated into a single holding company, "Vivo Participações". Later in July 2010, Telefónica bought out PT's shares, making Vivo a wholly-owned subsidiary of Telefónica.