Telecom Italia seeks to merge Tim Brasil with Oi to avoid its takeover
Telecom Italia (TI) is looking to merge its mobile phone subsidiary Tim Brasil, with the Brazilian telco Oi, Italian-language daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported.
The unsourced report said that TI is seeking a merger to avoid Oi leading a takeover of Tim Brasil.
Oi could ally with Claro, the Brazilian mobile phone subsidiary of America Movil, and Vivo, the Brazilian subsidiary of the Spanish, listed telco Telefonica, to mount any bid on Tim Brasil as it does not have the financial resources to carry out a takeover on its own. However, the item said that such an operation might run into regulatory difficulties with Anatel, Brazil's telecoms regulator.
The report said that TI CEO, Marco Patuano is hoping that he can convince Anatel for a merger with Oi on the grounds that it would create a national champion, something Anatel is keen to promote.
The merger may also win over the support of the Brazilian government. The report said that details of the project could be revealed at TI's board meeting on 25 September.
Source Il Sole 24 Ore