Portugal Telecom takes a nosedive on the Lisbon stock exchange: the telephone company's shares suffer a 20% plunge (to 0,96 euros), reflecting the uncertainties regarding the merger project with the Brazilian operator, Oi. Altice, the parent company of the French operator Numericable, has in fact been carrying on negotiations with Oi since the beginning of October, to try to acquire Portugal Telecom's Portuguese assets. The rumors had initially inflated the shares of the Lusitanian company. However, after the resignation of Zainal Bava, number one of Oi, the shares of Portugal Telecom have taken the downward path, leaving overall more than 30% of its value on the parterre. The Oi-Portugal Telecom merger should have given rise to a telecommunications giant with more than 100 million customers and 30 employees.
An 897 million euro loan granted in April by the Portuguese company to Rioforte, a holding company of the Espirito Santo group, has however called into question the merger operation. Last Friday, the Luxembourg justice rejected Rioforte's request for a financial reorganization and instead opened the way for the liquidation of the assets. This scenario makes the repayment of Rioforte's loan to Portugal Telecom even more unlikely. Since last June 26, the day on which the existence of the loan emerged, Portugal Telecom has lost about 65% on the stock market, with share prices going from 2,89 euros to less than one euro. In practice, capitalization has gone from 2,5 billion to less than one billion. Oi has forced the Portuguese partner to review the merger conditions: Portugal Telecom will hold only 25,6% of the new group born from the merger between the two telecommunications companies and no longer 38%, as originally planned. On the other hand, the merger could fall on deaf ears if the negotiations between Altice and Oi go through.
