Green light of Tim's Board of Directors to the sale of Network to the American fund KKR the mef and the Italian fund F21 they prepare to join. After a meeting that lasted three days which explored all aspects of the complex sale, the board of directors of the telephone company, chaired by Salvatore Rossi and supported by three authoritative legal opinions, decided - with only three votes against - to cross the Rubicon and have all the qualifications to approve the sale of the Network without the need to ask the opinion of the shareholders' meeting. The controversial reaction was immediate Vivendi, Tim's largest shareholder with a 23,7% stake, who in vain asked for the meeting to be called where he would have blocked the operation.
Yesterday's decision is a fundamental step in Tim's life but, beyond the legal dispute, he will need his time to arrive at the actual sale of the Network and the closing will not take place before summer 2024.
Tim network: the value of the sale, the blow to the debt and the closing by the summer
The price of the sale is set at 18,8 billion euros which could however rise by another 400 million if incentives arrive in the sector by 2025 and above all by another 2,5 billion if the Antitrust authorizes the merger with Open Fiber. That is, we could arrive at an operation worth just under 22 billion, net of Sparkle, the Tim submarine cable company which will be sold separately is that, for reasons of national security, it will probably end up at the MEF or CDP, as the offer made in this regard by KKR itself is not considered adequate.
The sale of the network deals a decisive blow to Tim's debt which has always weighed down the Italian telephone company since the Telecom takeover bid at the end of the 14s and which will now be reduced by XNUMX billion euros.
To conclude, the sale of the Network to Tim's CEO, Peter Labriola, a great job awaits which will require complex operations: first of all the confluence of Tim's primary network, the wholesale activity and Telenergia's participation in Fibercop, where the secondary network had previously been spun off. Then the 58% of Fibercop currently held by Tim will also have to be sold to KKR.
After these preliminary operations, the State will also enter the field, through the Mef, which has already set aside 2,5 billion euros to take over Sparkle and an equity stake of up to 20% of the company that will control the Network with KKR in which the fund will also enter F2i with a share between 10 and 15% and with an outlay of one billion. In other words, KKR will have to pay around 4 billion euros in cash, take on debts and personnel, to take over 65% of the network. However, the retail commercial activity, that towards businesses and Tim Brasil will remain within Tim.
Tim network: Vivendi's reaction and Labriola and Rossi's satisfaction
Vivendi's reaction was harsh but predictable, according to which "the rights of Tim's shareholders have been violated and the Board's decision is illegitimate". On the other hand, the comments of Tim's CEO, Labriola and President Rossi were satisfactory. “Two years of hard work – declared Labriola – end with a historic decision: to give way to the birth of companies with new perspectives”, that of the Internet and that of service activities. In turn, President Rossi stated that "the resolutions approved with great responsibility and courage by the Tim Board go in the direction of doing good for Tim, the people who work there, its shareholders and the entire country".
