The replacement of de Puyfontaine
As if the problems on the network weren’t enough, the waiting for the accounts and the updating of the industrial plan in progress, another case for the replacement of Arnaud de Puyfontaine, the CEO of Vivendi, the largest shareholder of the group, who resigned on January 16 in clear contrast to the board and claiming the need to change the president Salvatore Rossi.
According to news collected by Truth&Business at the request of the chairman of the nomination committee, Paola Bonomo, and with the endorsement of Rossi himself, the meeting of 14 February was included in the San Valentino board of directors’ agenda, in addition to the examination of the accounts and the update of the business plan including the co-option of a new director. It seems with the opposition of part of the board that did not consider the initiative necessary.
The name in pole position is that of Roberto Giacchi who in 1998 had already been at Tim, to follow the M&A activities for development in Latin America and Europe, and is now the managing director of Italiaonline. An initiative that could detonate the conflict between the first shareholder of the group and part of the board.
Kkr’s offer on the net
In fact, Vivendi complains that this board of directors is not representative of the delicate stock balance for the future of the former monopolist. At stake is the offer of around 20 billion Kkr on the network and a potential counter-offer from CDP and the Macquarie fund. In a council convened ad hoc for the 24th, Tim should give an answer to the US fund, but it is possible that in the council Tim will also find the Cassa’s offer on the table.
Vital decisions for the company that would be made in the absence of representatives of both the first and second shareholder. On the occasion of the previous board meeting immediately after the offer put on the table by Kkr, in fact, both Massimo Sarmi president of Fibercop (involved in the operation) and Giovanni Gorno Tempini (representative of Cdp ready to counter-move) left the meeting.
The nomination committee
This is why Vivendi deems it almost natural that de Puyfontaine’s place should be taken by a figure they indicate. The decision of the nomination committee to propose a name or a list of names to replace the CEO of the transalpine media giant falls within the prerogatives of the committee chaired by Bonomo and also made up of Paola Camagni, Maurizio Carli and Paola Sapienza (Assogestioni), who has been working on the dossier for about a month and plays a consultative role in the dynamics of the group, but at the same time accelerates on a decision which, according to some of the directors, could have been taken waiting for the April meeting. The French, however, would be ready to promote liability action against Bonomo herself.