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Vincent Bollor says his company is not looking to ‘manage’ Telecom Italia, nor is it keen to cash out in the event of a takeover.
Vivendi’s chairman is satisfied with his company’s position at Telecom Italia and is not looking to take over management of the telco, it emerged this week.
The French media group sees Telecom Italia, in which it holds a stake of almost 25%, as complementary to its core business, Vincent Bolloré said in an interview with the Financial Times.
In a piece primarily focused on the firm’s ambitions in the entertainment industry, the paper quoted Bolloré as saying that its presence in telecoms complements its position in the content space and that it is not looking to manage a telecoms operator.
"We manage content . . .We don’t manage Telecom Italia and we will never manage it," he said.
"We are happy in Italy and we are happy as a long-term shareholder," he said, refuting the suggestion that Vivendi’s investment in Telecom Italia was driven by a desire to reap a financial reward should the telco become a takeover target.
On that note, the FT piece does not shed much light on the real reason behind Vivendi’s decision to build up its holding in the Italian incumbent.
Although Bolloré talked up the complementary nature of the businesses, it is a stretch to believe that there was no other way for his company to develop synergies with the telco space other than a sizeable investment in a European incumbent.
He told the paper that owning a stake in Telecom Italia has enabled Vivendi to develop "privileged relationships" and said it helped smooth the way for its Mediaset deal; in April Vivendi agreed to acquire pay TV company Mediaset Premium and undertake a 3.5% stake swap with its parent company Mediaset.
Given Vivendi’s actions towards Telecom Italia over the past six months or so, Bolloré’s comments will probably do little to quell speculation over its intentions for the telco and the level of its future involvement.
The company successfully lobbied for an increase in the number of directors at the Italian incumbent late last year and its own representatives on the 16-member board number four, including Vivendi chief executive Arnaud de Puyfontaine, who now serves as its deputy chairman.
Telecom Italia shareholders last week approved a reduction in the number of directors on its board to 16 from 17, a situation that came about as a result of the resignation of former CEO and director Marco Patuano in March and his replacement by Flavio Cattaneo, who already served on the board.
Patuano quit amidst reports that he was under considerable pressure from Vivendi, which disagreed with the strategic direction of Telecom Italia under his leadership.
Thus some may struggle to believe that Vivendi has no intention of "managing" the operator.
