Tim, De Puyfontaine (Vivendi) resigns in veiled controversy with the top management but the decisions have always been unanimous

How the French had been winding up for days Arnaud de Puyfontaine, CEO of Vivendi – which is the major shareholder of the first Italian telephone company with 23,8% of the capital – yes resigned "with immediate effect" by the board of directors of Tim. The reasons for the resignation are sibylline but the malaise of the French has long been known, whose Italian campaign has so far been disastrous with potential losses of 3 billion but of which it was never quite understood what the real strategy was and what they really wanted to do in Tim.

De Puyfontaine explains that, in "this phase of constructive dialogue between the main shareholders of Tim and the institutions under the guidance of new government, it is essential that all parties are free to work constructively and transparently in the interest of the Company and all its shareholders”. In this sense, De Puyfontaine deems it "appropriate to devote himself, as Chief Executive Officer of Vivendi, to re-establishing a growth path for Tim and to ensuring that the real value of the Group and net, in its uniqueness, are correctly recognized".

De Puyfontaine: Tim's presidency is the real goal

But to what what really points De Puyfontaine in Tim? Rumors have been talking for months about the aspiration of the French to conquer the presidency of Tim replacing Salvatore Rossi, which has always interpreted the presidency of the Group as guarantor of all shareholders, with a person of close trust, identified in Massimo Sarmi, chairman of the subsidiary FiberCop with a long career behind him in telecommunications and in the Post Office and it is no coincidence that he recently joined Tim's board of directors. Vivendi's aspirations are very clear – even if the motivations are tortuous – but whether they come true remains to be seen because at present the French do not seem to have the numbers in the board to climb the presidency of the company. But why do they aspire to Tim's presidency? To get away from the Ad Peter Labriola and have "hands free" in online negotiations with the Government and the other shareholders. However, a very uncertain match.

De Puyfointaine forgets that all the decisions of Tim's board were unanimous

There is a point in the resignation of the CEO of Vivendi from Tim's board which however reveals the weakness of motivation and reveals the real reason for the malaise that has its origin in the stock fall Tim on the Stock Exchange and in the heavy potential losses accumulated so far by Vincent Bollorè's group in the Italian telephone campaign, even if De Puyfontaine puts his hands forward and takes care to let it be known that "Tim and Italy remain central to Vivendi's investment plans". But the essential point that cannot be put in brackets is that in the last three years all the decisions of Tim's board of directors have always been unanimously approved and therefore also with the consent of the French of Vivendi. Changing your mind is legitimate but it would be more elegant to do it with the cards exposed.