Spain’s Telefonica has issued a statement today denying that it is part of a corporate vehicle to acquire Telecom Italia (TI) subsidiary TIM Brasil before splitting its assets between its three main rivals.
On Friday a spokesperson from BTG Pactual…
Spain’s Telefonica has issued a statement today denying that it is part of a corporate vehicle to acquire Telecom Italia (TI) subsidiary TIM Brasil before splitting its assets between its three main rivals.
On Friday a spokesperson from BTG Pactual confirmed to TelecomFinance that the bank was working on a deal for TIM but did not say who it had been mandated by.
Replying to a request for clarification from Italian market regulator Consob, the Spanish incumbent said: “Telefonica would like to clarify that it is not part to any such vehicle and it has no details of any kind on any such potential transaction to disclose to the public for market evaluation.”
Telefonica added that it had not “made any specific contact with [Brazil’s antitrust regulator] Cade in connection with such potential transaction”.
Last week an Italian newspaper reported that Telefonica, which owns 15% of TIM’s parent TI, was looking to set up an investment vehicle with America Movil and Oi to buy TIM and then split its assets between the three telcos. A deal would reduce the number of major mobile operators in Brazil from four to three.
In December Cade said it was not happy with the level of Telefonica’s influence on the country’s mobile market. The regulator added that the Spanish operator must either reduce its stake in TI’s controlling shareholder Telco – which it took control of in September, thus giving it sway over TIM – or find a new partner to take joint-control of its direct subsidiary Vivo.
Telefonica previously said that Cade’s position was “unreasonable” and therefore was looking at potentially launching legal actions, which it confirmed it is still considering.
