The Meloni government over Tim closes the door on the Merlyn Partners plan, the fund created by Alessandro Barnaba. From Chigi sources, in fact, the Merlyn offer linked to the TimValue project by Barnaba and Stefano Siragusa and presented by the activist fund as an alternative to that of the North American investment fund Kkr and as the one that would avoid the sale of Tim Network received a ‘no’ . Not the sale of Netco, but the sale of regulated and consumer activities, including Tim Brasil. Transformation of Tim into a fully Italian, infrastructured technology company. Focus on single network design with CDP at the helm. And a change at the top of the former monopolist TLC, now led by Pietro Labriola, placing Stefano Siragusa, the former Network and Wholesale Operations manager who left the group in August, in charge. These are the key points of the ‘TimValue’ plan, to relaunch Tim, an alternative to KKR, presented to the board of directors of Telecom Italia by the Luxembourg fund Merlyn Partners, which currently holds a stake of just under 3%. .
The words arriving at these times from government sources are clear: «With reference to the so-called recently emerged proposal on the future of Tim, the Government emphasizes that it has taken other decisions that contemplate another plan, expressed to the Tim company and the market with transparency and in the form correct. Any other initiative is foreign to the Government’s intentions.” The Government’s initiative on TIM, with the participation of Mef in the bid for Netco «clearly sees public control over the strategic structure as a final result expressly guaranteed by the proposal – the only proposal – in which the Executive participates with recognition of the strategic role and special powers attributed to the Government, in full compliance with EU law”. In turn, Tim «at the request of Consob, confirms that it received last Friday a communication from Merlyn Advisor and RN Capital Partner, which also was widely publicized at the same time it was sent to the company. Tim, once the shareholding of the proposing fund has been verified, will submit the document to the Board of Directors, which will meet on November 3rd.” The giant TLC then reiterates that «the NetCo project under analysis is aligned with the plan unanimously approved by the Board of Directors and presented on Capital Market Day, in July last year. In this context, preparatory activities for decisions regarding to the offers received from the KKR fund during the meetings already scheduled on November 3 and 5”.
However, sources close to the Luxembourg fund defend the initiative, stressing that it is not a mere speculative movement, but a market operation. The sources point out that «Merlyn & Partners is not an activist fund, but it is a fund that also engages in activism in relation to listed companies that are not well managed and need to be valued. The sense of activism is linked to the maximum defense of market values and the interests of all shareholders, because it buys shares with maximum transparency and presents itself to the market in an open, transparent and inclusive way”. «Those who engage in activism – they point out – are champions of market democracy, as they put their money at risk to ensure that each action counts and can be expressed in the assembly, which is the place where the sovereignty of a company resides. Therefore, activists are not speculators, much less Merlyn, who does not make a speculative investment, but rather a medium and long-term one to encourage current and future boards of directors to create value for all stakeholders”.
Source: IL Tempo
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
