"We have no prejudices about anything." This is how Arnaud de Puyfontaine, CEO of Vivendi and president of Tim, replied to reporters who asked him about the possibility of a spin-off of the Italian telephone group's network.
From Capri, where he was attending an EY conference, the manager reached out to Rome: “We are available to meet the Government and the Regulatory Authorities” to explain that Vivendi is “a friendly group of Italy. I want to be seen as the French ambassador in Italy”.
With regard to Sparkle, Tim's subsidiary considered of strategic interest by the Government and probable object of Golden Power, "I won't go into details - continued de Puyfontaine - we will do what needs to be done to ensure that everyone is happy".
The objective of Vivendi, Tim's main shareholder, "is to find the best decision for Tim and for the stakeholders, and by stakeholders I mean the Government, regulators, customers and Italy as a country - concluded the Frenchman - Tim is a fantastic company and want to make it successful again. Vivendi loves Italy and wants to invest in it”.
Tim's executive chairman then continued, also in his role as CEO Vivendi: “The last few months have been very bumpy. I am obviously referring – he clarified – to the intense speculations on the role of Vivendi in Italy ”. The manager reiterated that the group acted "in full compliance with the law" (the reference is to the question of Vivendi's de facto control over Tim, disputed by Consb). As for strategies, "the opportunities created by convergence are the main element within our strategic approach in Italy", concluded de Puyfontaine, underlining once again the objective of building a powerful media group focused on Southern Europe. “We are expanding in Italy because there is a market where we see a great opportunity to develop the infrastructure”.
Subsequently, company sources specified that with regards to the unbundling “a separation of the network, which is and remains strategic, is not on the agenda. There is nothing new”.
Updated at 13.32pm
