On paper, the funds and large national and international investors gathered around the American fund Elliott seem capable of undermining Vivendi, which also holds a 23,94% stake in Telecom Italia (today Tim), but even before the shareholders' meeting on 24 April or May 4 the white-hot duel on the future of the largest Italian telephone company will be played in the halls of the Civil Court of Milan.
Today we will know if the emergency appeal, presented both by Vivendi (Tim's main shareholder) and by Tim itself against the request for revocation of six directors of the company requested by Elliot will be accepted or not.
If the appeal were to be accepted, the revocation of the six directors in quota Vivendi would go off the radar of the meeting of 24 April and the count would go directly to the meeting of 4 May, where a record turnout is expected - more than 68% of the share capital social – and where it will be necessary to proceed with the complete renewal of the board of directors with the voting list and with the duel between the French list and that of the Elliott fund.
If, on the other hand, the Civil Court of Milan were to reject the Vivendi-TIM appeal, the shareholders' meeting on 24 April would already vote for the revocation of 6 directors and for the appointment of their Elliott-branded replacements, which in the first instance nominated Fulvio Conti (former CEO of Enel), Massimo Ferrari, Paola Giannotti, Luigi Gubitosi (Alitalia commissioner), Davide Roscini and Rocco Sabelli (former CEO of Telecom Italia), while the May 4 meeting would become superfluous and would be canceled by the new majority.
But obviously Vivendi would not give up and would probably go to a new meeting in mid-June with a legal dispute, which already promises to be "long - writes Il Sole 24 Ore - like the tail of a comet".
