Tim, ready the raises on the net. And Vivendi aims to stop the Corriere.it auction

The redde rationem between Vivendi and Tim’s board is approaching. It will probably not be at the next meeting scheduled for April 20, but it could come after the decision on the offers for the network, which Tim’s main shareholder deems insufficientcontesting the same choice of the council to carry on the proposals by Cdp-Macquarie and Kkr, who will have to communicate by next Tuesday whether and by how much they intend to raise. Both bidders are working on improving the offers.

These would be small adjustments, which should in any case place the offers in a range between 19 and 21 billion. CDP is expected to meet the council next Tuesday to deliberate on the new proposal. In the meantime it would clarified with the EU Antitrust the path to define any remedies in the event of a merger between the Tim and Open Fiber network.
Vivendi is exerting constant pressure to discourage the board, starting with the president Salvatore Rossi. On 7 April, the French expressed their dissent in a letter sent to Rossi, which was followed a few days ago by a request for clarification to be given before the meeting, regarding in particular the work carried out by the nomination committee for the definition of the remuneration and of the objectives to which the incentive plan for the management led by the CEO Pietro Labriola is linked and on the consequent resolutions of the board.

However, the French have no intention of giving battle to the assembly of March 20, where they should abstain from voting, given that beyond what is emerging, the real crux of the dispute is not so much governance as the management of network sales. Vivendi indicated the value of the asset at 31 billion and believes that the offers of Cdp-Macquarie (18.5 billion) and Kkr (20 billion) are too low to proceed with a competitive auction. Now he is waiting to sell what the board will decide next Tuesday to go on the attack and stop the sale, moving the battle to the shareholders’ meeting with the aim of discouraging the board.

To strengthen his position, vivendi would also leverage the difficulties in which ServCo would find itself, the company in which the services would remain, due to the debts and the personnel it would take on if Tim sells the network on the basis of the current offers. For the French, if the value of the sale were less than 26 billion, the operation would not be sustainable. However, several observers believe it is still possible to find a solution, even if Vivendi does not seem willing to ease the pressure on Tim’s advice.