The Brazilian Antitrust does not only hurt Telecom Italia, today among the worst stocks in the Ftse Mib (-1,5%). On the São Paulo Stock Exchange it also travels in red Tim Participaçoes: the stock of the subsidiary of the Italian group, at the beginning of the afternoon, was down by more than three percentage points.
The Authority of the South American country (Cade) has resolved that Telefonica must exit its direct and indirect stakes in Tim Participações (Tim Brasil) or sell Vivo (the first Brazilian mobile operator controlled by Telefonica Brasil). This was announced by the Director General of the Authority, specifying that the eventual purchaser of Vivo will not be allowed to have stakes in other competing Brazilian operators.
The Authority explained that Telefonica's decision to grow in the capital of Telecom Italia, which controls Tim Brasil, has created serious problems in Brazil: the Spanish company has violated the commitment it made in 2010 at the time of the purchase of the stake in Telecom Italia, not to enter into the merits of Tim Brasil's management decisions and not to increase its stake in the parent company.
For this reason Telefonica was fined 15 million reais, approximately 5 million euros. Together Tim Brasil and Vivo control over half of the mobile phone market in the South American country.
“Either Telecom Italia sells Tim Brasil or Telefonica will have to leave Telecom Italia”. This aut aut is put by the president of the Brazilian Antitrust, Vinicius Marques de Carvalho.
Marco Fossati, shareholder of the telephone company with a 5% stake through Findim, stated that "the solutions imposed by Cade on Telefonica cannot be to the detriment and detriment of Telecom, the solution cannot and must not be the forced sale of Tim Brasil , considered strategic by Telecom's management itself”.
Fossati therefore asked for "immediate and decisive intervention by the Italian supervisory authorities" which clearly establishes Telco's de facto control over Telecom, "as has already been done by the Brazilian authorities, with all the related legal and financial consequences".
