In the match between Vivendi and the Elliott Fund enters the field: the Consob of the new president Mario Nava, who took over from Giuseppe Vegas. The Authority has requested Tim's Board of Directors to integrate the documentation available to shareholders for the April 24 meeting with the request for revocation and appointment of six new directors made by the Elliott Fund. The Group led by Amos Genish has convened for today, Tuesday morning, a extraordinary board. And a position paper which launches a harsh attack on the US Fund, retraces the steps of the story and defends the line adopted by the French group
The ongoing dispute for control of Telecom Italia has already been analyzed twice by the Authority in Piazza Verdi, solicited by the Elliott Fund lawyers: the first complaint was presented to denounce the anomaly of the resignation of eight Telecom directors expressed by Vivendi.
In the second report, the US fund requested Consob to supervise the freedom of minority shareholders to express themselves with the vote in the meeting of 24 April.
In the meantime Tim and Vivendi – the leading shareholder of the Italian group – are awaiting the outcome of the appeal filed on Friday 13 April at Court of Milan against the decisions of the board of statutory auditors, thus avoiding the vote on the dismissal of the directors. The ruling on the sentence will necessarily have to arrive before April 24th.
The meeting at the end of the month will be a decisive turning point for the story involving one of the most important Italian groups. In view of 24 April, securities equal to 68% of the capital have been deposited, 10% more than the last corporate appointments. Meanwhile, the American proxy advisor ISS, which had already expressed its support for the revocation of the directors appointed by Vivendi, confirmed its support for the US fund. Near Paul Singer there is also Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, which at the beginning of the month rose to 4,2% of the capital.
On Tuesday morning, shortly before the extraordinary Board of Directors convened for the integration of the documentation requested by Consob, Vivendi declared in a company note that "the objective of the Elliott Fund is the dismantling of the group, despite claiming to support Amos' strategy Genish. We have seen hidden potential in Tim, investing more than 4 billion euros and bringing a long-term vision. An Italian strategic asset deserves and needs solid and strong management”.
In the long note published on the website of the French telecommunications giant, we read that "Telecom Italia has recorded chronically low performances, with a history of insufficient investments and inadequate management". "De Puyfontaine - continues the text - he will not be executive chairman, assuring the current CEO all the room for maneuver necessary to effectively exercise his role"-
For Mario Nava, therefore, the first week of work is anything but peaceful. His inauguration comes at a delicate moment for the international markets. Consob's role in the Telecom affair will be fundamental and decisive in guaranteeing the transparency of decisions and compliance with the rules.
Nava, who has held the position of director for the supervision of the financial system and crisis management of the European Commission since 2016, has announced that he wants to implement a real revolution, with an innovative program that will focus strongly on digital and on fintech.
