Telecom Italia Greelights KKR's €22B Bid to Aquire the Network; Vivendi Opposes Decision

Telecom Italia reportedly approved the sale of its network to the US-based investment management company, KKR & Co. Inc. The deal is worth €22 billion and is said to be supported by Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

According to Reuters, the information was shared by two sources who know the matter. This deal between Telecom Italia and KKR & Co. Inc. is also said to be a key move of TIM’s chief executive officer, Pietro Labriola, to revive the company which is currently facing lots of debt.

The Board’s Approval of the Sale

The sale of Telecom Italia’s prized domestic fixed-line grid to KKR was given the “go-ahead” signal by the company’s board on Sunday, Nov. 5. Before coming to the decision, the board members reportedly held a meeting on Friday to review the offer.

After two days, the executives convene again to decide through voting. The result showed that 11 directors agreed with the sale while only three were against it. The board’s final review was based on KKR’s offer and proposal values. It was added that TIM’s fixed-line is valued at €20 billion or $21.5 billion, including its debt.

However, Telecom Italia’s network’s price tag can reach €22 billion if some future payments are included in the total. These future payments are expected if the long-awaited merging of TIM's grid with Open Fiber pushes through.

Vivendi Expresses Strong Opposition to the Sale

Vivendi SE, a French media company that owns a 24% stake in TIM wants a higher price and started to question the sustainability of the business after the sale of the network to KKR. moreover, the company said the decision of Telecom Italia’s board was “unlawful” and it will take any legal action to challenge the approval of the sale.

Vivendi thinks that the sale required an extraordinary shareholder vote on top of clearance from an internal Telecom Italia board committee for related transactions. Thus, it does not agree with the board’s decision.

“Vivendi deeply regrets that TIM’s Board of Directors accepted KKR’s offer to buy TIM’s network without first informing and requesting a vote from its shareholders, thus contravening applicable governance rules,” the company said in a statement. “Vivendi’s reasoned requests, expressed through multiple communications to the Board of Directors, the Statutory Auditors and the market regulator (Consob), aimed at protecting all shareholders and preventing such a prejudicial situation, have been completely ignored.”

It added, “TIM’s Board of Directors has thus deprived each shareholder of the right to express their opinion in the Shareholders’ meeting, as well as the related right of withdrawal for dissenting shareholders.”

Photo by: TIM Media Tools