MILANO – Tim under pressure, with short sales at their highest ever (19% of the total), the stock struggling to recover after the collapse in conjunction with the new industrial plan of 7 March, and in view of the meeting of 23 April which will have to renew the board and vote on the list of management led by Pietro Labriola.
MONEY. Listen to the latest episode of the A&F podcast on the Tim case
Funds on the run
Also the largest investor in the worldor the bottom BlackRockhas decided not only that Tim is not a company to invest in, but rather it is a security that must be sold shortbecause it is destined to get worse and worse even if since the beginning of the year it has lost 28% of its value, slipping to 0.22 euros.
“We we did what the State should do – commented the Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti – We have done the only possible thing, then the market will evaluate if venture in other directions“.
The Mef has in fact committed to detect from Kkr up to 20% of the Tim network, reserving governance rights, and is in negotiations to buy always controlled by Telecom Italia Sparkle, the submarine cable company that connects Italy to Israel and the rest of Europe. In this regard to enhance Sparkle more the Mef would have contacted the Asterion fund which controls rival Retelit: an agreement that would increase the valuation from 750 to 800 million (with earn outs).
The Mef through Cdp (9.8% shareholder) then committed to voting for the Labriola list which within its ranks also makes room for president of the Fund, Giovanni Gorno Tempini.
Fabrizio Solari: “The workers, young people and the country pay for Tim’s disasters” by Fabrizio Solari 21 March 2024
Unions mobilizing
The However, Giorgetti’s statements left the unions stunnedi, also because the group’s financial crisis will have industrial repercussions, eiTim’s management has not given any employment guarantees. Neither the protest at Mimit against the transfer of the network Tim produced some “appreciable result”.
“Since 2023 we have been asking to know what commitments the company has made with the Americans of the KKR fund – he comments Except Ugliarolo of Uilcom – we have not received no official response and the rumors that reach us through the unofficial channels do not bode well. The government must take responsibilityin the absence of a real confrontation we are ready to ask for a mobilization to defend the fate of the people”.
The role of Vivendi
The situation is exacerbated by the fact that the plan Free to run presented by Labriola on March 7 was criticized by investors because it was deemed too ambitious and not achievable, an issue that makes Labriola’s confirmation at the helm of Tim less obvious.
In this regard, the Merlyn fund led by the former JP Morgan banker Alexander Barnabas has already said that he will present a list of 10 names, including that offormer manager of Tim Stefano Siragusawhich could be supported both by foreign funds such as King Street Capital Management and Circuits Llc, and by a group of Italian entrepreneurs coordinated by Francesco De Leo, Galeazzo Pecori Giraldi and Mario Carlo Ferrario.
It is not yet clear what Bluebell wants to do Giuseppe Bivona, which appears to be oriented towards presenting its own minority list. In any case, the Labriola list, the Merlyn list and the possible Bivona list, they will only be successful if they manage to capture Vivendi’s votes (owner of 23.75% of Tim), which so far has been critical of both the current governance and the sale of the network for 18.2 billion, a price which, in the opinion of the French, was immediately deemed too low and insufficient to solve Tim’s debt problems.