convened the board of directors to present the offer (hypothesis of 20 billion) – Corriere.it

Cassa Depositi e Prestiti is preparing to break the delay on the Tim network. An extraordinary council of the Cassa has been convened for today in which the offer developed with the Macquarie fund, together with which the Cassa controls Open Fiber, will be examined. The plan that will come on the board table would offer better conditions than those proposed by Kkrwhich at the beginning of February came forward with a non-binding offer to purchase Tim’s infrastructure, valuing a perimeter that includes FiberCop – the last mile of the Tim network of which the US fund has already 37.5% – and Sparkle’s international leads.

The hypothesis

The CDP proposal should be around 20 billion euros but compared to that of the US fund it would have a greater cash component – the hypotheses indicate up to 10 billion cash, 8 billion of debt plus an earn-out of 2 billion that would be paid upon the fulfillment of certain conditions – and therefore on paper it would be more advantageous for Tim, who in addition to deconsolidating debt would collect more liquidity. The valuation by Cassa and Macquarie would also include in the price the effect of the incentives for the grid that the government is studying. It remains to be understood how the critical issues that have held the Cassa firm up to now, which has been working for almost a year on an offer for the Tim network, and those faced by Kkr, which has to deal with the government’s intention to create a national network.

Antitrust assessment

Cdp and Macquarie together control Open Fiber, the telephone group’s main competitor in fiber infrastructure, and therefore have an Antitrust problem, the extent of which however depends on the structure of the offer. Two days ago the CEO of Cdp Equity, Francesco Mele, admitted that technically It is not easy to prepare an offer that has industrial implications, legal and competitive which must be carefully evaluated, adding that working with other investors is an element that allows us to do more things and therefore we do not have the presumption of working alone. We are open, even in Kkr. The participation of other national and international investors – immediately or at a later time – could reduce the risks for CDP.

Comparison at Palazzo Chigi

As for the US fund, the government’s openness to public participation in the offer on the Tim network led to a brief discussion with Palazzo Chigi, intent on understanding whether there was room to safeguard the goal of the national network. At the table there were also the Mef and Cdp, which at this point seems to have decided not to wait for further checksassuming the risk of playing the card of a counter-proposal for the Tim network with an outcome that is far from obvious, although it seems unlikely that the CEO of the Cassa, Dario Scannapieco, has moved without having calculated the margin for maneuver that he can have .

The role of Vivendi

There is, however, the risk that everything will remain as it is. Vivendi, Tim’s largest shareholder, indicated the value of the network at 31 billion. Well higher than that indicated by Kkr and the estimates of Cdp/Macquarie. And he would like the sale to take place after having taken Tim off the list with a takeover bid, to then concentrate on ServCo – the company in which Tim’s other businesses would remain – on condition that it is made financially sustainable. Vivendi had negotiated with Cdp without finding a meeting point, but he kept the dialogue open with the government. He believes Kkr’s offer is too low, however, as he is no longer on Tim’s board, he did not participate in the council which discussed the US offer on February 24th. And that he could soon find himself having to solve a vital dilemma for Tim’s future, without knowing the intentions of the first shareholder but knowing that through the CDP offer the government can build the national grid.