Telecom Italia has reiterated that its Brazilian unit is strategic, adding that it does not have any information regarding recent sale rumours.In a statement yesterday, TIM Brasil said it had asked its parent company for clarification on media…
Telecom Italia has reiterated that its Brazilian unit is strategic, adding that it does not have any information regarding recent sale rumours.
In a statement yesterday, TIM Brasil said it had asked its parent company for clarification on media speculation that TI’s new shareholder, French media group Vivendi, plans to divest the wireless carrier to focus on domestic growth.
The statement was in response to a Bloomberg report suggesting that Vivendi chairman Vincent Bollore would be keen to dispose of TIM, Brazil’s second-largest mobile player, in the next two years, and he would potentially look to combine the telco with a European rival in the medium term.
For the last two years, there have been rumours that TIM Brasil could be split among the country’s remaining cellcos: America Movil’s Claro, Telefonica’s Vivo and locally owned Oi. Such a move would benefit all three, while avoiding the wrath of regulators.
Vivendi stake rumours continue
The report also suggested that Vivendi, which received a 8.3% stake in TI from Telefonica as part-payment for the acquisition of its Brazilian broadband provider GVT, would up its holding to 15% in the coming days.
Yesterday, Telco, TI’s holdco, was officially dismantled, and as a result, its shareholders –Telefonica, Generali, Mediobanca and Intesa Sanpaolo − may now sell their shares.
Bollore is also reportedly looking to implement a cost-cutting strategy for the highly-leveraged telco, which holds a net debt of €26bn. The incumbent posted €21.6bn in 2014 revenues, down 5.4% on the previous year, with a €8.8bn EBITDA.
Vivendi, which has exited nearly all its telecoms investments to focus on content production, would benefit from a tie-up with TI to ensure wider distribution of content produced by subsidiaries Universal Music Group and French pay-television operator Canal Plus.
