3 April 2007

Telecom is an Asset of this Country

Tronchetti Provera has a problem. Olimpia has shares in Telecom Italia that it is valuing at well above the market value. On the Stock Exchange, Telecom is at slightly more than 2 Euros. But Tronchetti wants to sell at 2.92.
This is the main reason why he has not found a satisfactory negotiation with the Italian banking system and he is thinking of handing over Olimpia to the AT&T (USA) and to America Movil (Mexico)
The question that could be asked by the citizen or by the myriads of small shareholders is: “Why can Tronchetti ask 2.92 and the other Telecom shareholders have to put up with the constant losses of the last few years and sell at the market value?
The answer is in the ability that Olimpia has to give direction to the governance of Telecom, thanks to the current rules that allow the shareholder with 18% of the shares to impose their choices on the remaining 82%.
Whoever buys Olimpia can thus “command” Telecom. The minority governing in place of the majority: a paradox. A few gain, almost all lose. This must no longer be possible. The small shareholders must have representational structures. And certain mechanisms allowed on the Stock Exchange, as for example the “Chinese boxes” must be abolished.
Beppe Grillo has started an initiative called “share action” to give him the proxy votes of the small shareholders at the Telecom shareholders meeting.. I have decided to join this.
Telecom is a fundamental asset for Italy and it cannot be an object of financial speculation and I will reaffirm this at the urgent meeting I have requested with the President of the Council, Romano Prodi. At this meeting I will suggest we have a regulation, perhaps as a decree, to review the rules of governance and to prevent, straight away, that a minority can decide in place of a shareholder majority.

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Economy