Telefónica not in on deal to buy TIM Brasil and divide company up
Brazilian anti-trust agency has told Spanish firm to either sell its stake or reduce its holdings in Vivo
Spanish telecoms giant Telefónica on Monday denied rumors it was considering making Telecom Italia a joint offer for its Brazilian unit Tim Participaçoes through a corporate vehicle with other operators in the Latin American country with a view to later divvying out its assets among themselves.
“Telefónica would like to clarify that it is not part of this said vehicle and has no details of any sort about this potential transaction,” the firm said in a request by the Italian securities regulator CONSOB.
After Telefónica reached an agreement that could eventually hand it full control of Telco, the major shareholder in Telecom Italia, the Brazilian government said the country’s regulators would not allow the Spanish giant to control both Vivo and TIM in Brazil. The government also said that neither would the two other major cellphone operators in Brazil, América Móvil’s Claro and Oi, be allowed to take control of TIM Brasil.
The Brazilian anti-trust regulator CADE last month said Telefónica should either sell its direct and indirect holding in TIM Brasil or reduce its stake in Vivo. Telefónica at the time said it believes the conditions imposed by CADE were not “reasonable,” adding that it was considering taking legal action.
In its response to the CONSOB, Telefónica also said it had not been in contact with the Brazilian regulator CADE with respect to the reported joint transaction in TIM. “All the recent contact of lawyers and representatives of Telefónica with CADE were carried out in the context of commenting on the decisions made by CADE,” Telefónica said.
The Spanish company said the timeframe it has been given to comply with CADE’s rulings is confidential information.
