Tim announced the completion of the acquisition of Oi's mobile assets in Brazil, together with Telefonica and Claro (the transaction will be completed during 2021 for a total value of approximately 2,7 billion euros), and awaits the board of Enel which on Thursday should approve the sale of 50% of Open Fiber, preparatory operation for the single network project. However, the two very important circumstances are not heating investors up too much: at the end of the morning, the Tim share gained only 0,4%.
As regards the Oi operation, which Tim could finance - as he explained in a note - by resorting to cash and debt, approximately 14,5 million customers will be assigned to Tim Brasil (equal to 40% of the total customer base sold by Oi), around 49 MHz as a weighted national average by population (54% of radio frequencies) and around 7,2 thousand mobile access sites (equal to 49% of sites). Tim Brasil will participate in the transaction by investing approximately 7,3 billion reais (approximately 1,2 billion euro), to be paid at the closing and 476 million reais relating to Tim Brasil's share in the net present value of the contracts.
"The operation is industrially very interesting for Tim Brasil and for the Brazilian mobile market, leading to a reduction in the number of operators and significant synergies", commented the analysts of Equita Sim, according to which Tim could also decide to offset the increase debt due to the investment with a reduction of the stake held in Tim Brasil, while always retaining the absolute majority. Akros also gives a positive opinion on the operation, but adds that it was already to be considered discounted by the market, while Mediobanca Securities raises the price target on Tim shares to 0,63 euro, adding that the key factor for the recovery of the prices is represented by the single network project in Italy and therefore there is expectation for the sale of Enel's stake in Open Fiber: the reorganization of the latter with Cdp (which would buy part of Enel's share) in the majority should accelerate the path towards the aggregation between the assets of Tim and those of Open Fiber.
Tim also gave another communication, relating to the digitization of companies, one of the great challenges of this time to be fulfilled by fully exploiting the potential of 5G, artificial intelligence and the Internet of things: for this reason Tim and Comau have signed a technology collaboration agreement with the aim of accelerating the adoption of these solutions in the manufacturing industry. The two companies will therefore support the digital transformation of companies in the sector by exploiting their respective areas of excellence.
Thanks to the agreement, which follows a two-year field trial, Tim and Comau will develop new IoT services and products aimed at manufacturing companies in the Italian market and, in the future, also internationally. The first result of the collaboration is the launch of the innovative 'Industrial IoTIM powered by Comau' solution which allows monitoring and diagnostics, even remotely, of industrial production machinery, highlighting maintenance and assistance needs, through forecasting and predictive systems.
All thanks to ultrabroadband connectivity, TIM's Edge cloud and Industrial IoT services and the digital technologies of the in.Grid platform combined with Comau's high expertise in factory automation and robotics. Furthermore, Olivetti, digital farm of the Tim Group, will make available the specialized skills gained in the IoT field, guaranteeing support and technical assistance at all stages, remotely and in the field. The solution enables the exchange and acquisition of data detected by sensors from industrial machinery, enabling predictive maintenance and the improvement of factory processes thanks to the introduction of artificial intelligence features.
The complete digitization of the machinery, made possible by the new solution, will allow all the people involved - from managers to line operators - to plan, manage and monitor the production flow having at their disposal all the information necessary to make strategic and operational decisions in the management of the activity. This in line with the provisions of the national strategy on the subject of "Industry 4.0" and with the possibility of also accessing the related tax benefits.
Through this collaboration, TIM and Comau aim to extend their leadership in industrial solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT) market, which in 2019 in Italy reached a value of 6,2 billion euros, with an increase of 24% compared to 2018 (Source: Research by the Internet of Things Observatory of the School of Management of the Milan Polytechnic - April 2020). “This strategic partnership with Comau – commented Massimo Mancini, Tim's Enterprise Market Manager – positions the TIM Group as a point of reference in Italy in the Industrial IoT, a market that will be increasingly important with the progressive implementation of 5G and Artificial".
