Vivendi no longer holds any interest in Telefonica Brasil, having carried out the final share swap linked to the sale of broadband operator GVT in May, which signalled its exit from the Brazilian telecoms market.
The French company sold GVT to Telefonica and as part of the deal gained a 7.5% stake in Telefonica Brasil.
In late July it detailed two separate transactions to offload those shares, selling 4% on the open market for US$877 million and agreeing a share swap with Telefonica for the remaining 3.5%; the latter deal involved Vivendi exchanging 58.4 million Telefonica Brasil shares for 46 million Telefonica shares, equivalent to a 0.95% holding in the Spanish incumbent.
On Wednesday Telefonica Brasil issued a statement confirming that the exchange of shares has been carried out.
Vivendi may have withdrawn from Brazil, but the process has left it with a significant telecoms holding at a time when it was purportedly seeking to exit the sector. And as result, it still has an indirect presence in Brazil, for now, at least
The company gained a stake in Telecom Italia as a result of the GVT deal – Telefonica was formerly Telecom Italia’s largest shareholder – and, as of early September, holds a 15.5% stake in the Italian incumbent.
Telecom Italia owns Brazil’s second largest mobile operator, TIM. But there has been speculation for a number of years that the market will consolidate, and TIM Brasil, being the only one of the big four without a strong fixed-line business, is the most likely candidate to be swallowed up.
Vivendi though has made it clear that its interests lie closer to home.
"Today’s transaction reflects the group’s intention to become more active in Europe and to pursue strategic partnerships there," it said, when it announced the disposal of its 7.5% Telefonica Brasil stake six weeks ago.
