IBM says Mexico's Iusacell sued to avoid complying with contract

IBM Corp on Wednesday blasted a lawsuit filed by Mexican mobile phone operator Iusacell against the U.S. technology company as a "transparent attempt" to avoid complying with contractual obligations.

IBM said in a statement that Iusacell has failed to pay IBM Mexico what it is owed under the contract. The software company's Mexican unit had previously filed an arbitration claim against Iusacell seeking to enforce the contract, the statement said.

On Wednesday, Iusacell launched a lawsuit against IBM, accusing the company of making fraudulent representations that caused it to lose $2.5 billion in profits.

Iusacell is co-owned by television and retail mogul Ricardo Salinas' Grupo Salinas and broadcast and pay TV giant Grupo Televisa

(Reporting by Nate Raymond; Editing by David Gregorio)