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“BrOI”: BrT e Oi/Telemar formalizam reestruturações societárias: “BrT and Oi/Telemar formalize restructuring plans.”
Convergência Digital is the first to note the first public signs of progress toward the Brasil Telecom-Oi merger: A series of Material Events published with the securities regulator minutes before midnight on a pre-holiday Friday.
O feriado de Tiradentes foi bastante movimentado para o batalhão de advogados da Brasil Telecom e da Oi/Telemar que trabalham para viabilizar a fusão das duas concessionárias, pelo menos do ponto de vista de mercado, uma vez que no setor, a fusão só poderá acontecer com a mudança do atual Plano Geral de Outorgas – já em revisão oficial pela Anatel.
The Tiradentes holiday was pretty busy for the battalions of lawyers fielded by Brasil Telecom and Oi/Telemar, working to make the merger of the two concessionaires possible — possible, at least, from the point of view of the market, given that the merger ultimately depends on an amendment to the current General Concession Plan (PGO) — currently under official review by Anatel.
Anatel assigned the case to the board member who will study and make recommendations late last week — contradicting reports that a conclusion would be forthcoming by week’s end. This story, journalistically speaking, is lousy with anonymously-sourced bright certainties that end in failed prognostications.
No sábado dia 19/04, parte da reestruturação societária das duas operadoras – envolvidas com brigas e desavenças de acionistas – foi oficializada. Nos informes, reproduzidos abaixo pelo Convergência Digital, as duas operadoras assumem que o acerto entre os acionistas foi determinado para “simplificar e aumentar a transparência e a otimização da estrutura organizacional atual”.
On Saturday, April 19, part of the corporate restructuring plan for the two operators — who are involved in disputes and fallings-out among their shareholders — was formalized.
The reference date on the documents is Friday, April 18, which is presumably when the accords were formalized. April 19 is the disclosure date.
In the disclosure statements, reproduced below, the two operators report that the shareholder agreement was undertaken in order to “simplify, optimize and render more transparency the current corporate structure.”
Os acertos firmados e comunicados à Comissão de Valores Mobiliários não resolvem todas as questões societárias relativas à situação das duas operadoras, mas é um bom passo para um acordo final entre as partes, uma vez que, até o momento, os acertos estavam apenas no aspecto verbal, e não, formal, junto ao mercado financeiro.
The agreements signed and communicated to the CVM do not resolve all the issues relating to the situation of the two companies, but it is major step toward a final deal between the parties, given that, to date, only oral agreements, and not formal ones, have been communicated to the financial market.
O tema fusão Brasil Telecom e Oi/Telemar também ganhou mais corpo do ponto de vista de Marco Regulatório. Isso porque na última sexta-feira, dia 18/04, o assunto chegou ao Conselho Diretor da Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações – Anatel. O relator do processo será o conselheiro Pedro Jaime Ziller.
The merger also gained momentum in terms of the regulatory aspect. On Friday, the matter was taken up by the full board of Anatel, and assigned to commissioner Pedro Jaime Ziller.
A trade unionist and author of a blistering critique of the telecom privatizations of the 1990s. English summary of the paper:
This article makes a critic to the delivery of the state Brazilians of telecommunications to the capital deprived starting from its negative reflexes for the democratization of the public access to the information.
Ouch. Ugly translation.
Uma eventual fusão entre Oi/Telema e Brasil Telecom criaria no mercado de telefonia fixa, uma gigante com cerca de 69% do potencial de consumo brasileiro em sua área de cobertura como concessionárias. A fusão já teve o “endosso” do Governo Lula, que planeja ter uma empresa nacional capaz de competir com às “rivais” Telefônica, de controle espanhol, e e Telmex ( controladora da Embratel, Net e Claro), do megaempresário mexicano Carlos Slim.
A potential BrT-Oi merger would create a fixed-line telephone giant with äccess to nearly 69% of the potential market in the coverage area assigned by its concessions. The merger already has the “endorsement” of the Lula government, which plans a national telecome capable of competing with the “rival” Telefônica, controlled by the Spanish, and Carlos Slim’s Telemex, which controls Embratel, Net and Claro.)
O Convergência Digital reproduz dois dos fatos relevantes encaminhados pelos acionistas da Brasil Telecom e da Oi/Telemar à CVM – na sexta-feira, 18/04 e no sábado, 19/04, e destaca as explicações das companhias envolvidas para o acerto. Todas assumem que o “acerto” é para facilitar o processo de reestruturação societária.
CD reproduces below the two “material event” disclosures sent by BrT and Oi shareholders to the CVM on Friday and Saturday, with emphasis on the explanations provided by the companies involved in the deal. All agree that the purpose of the deal is to facilitate the process of corporate restructuring.
And now we are left to plough through the legalese on our own rather than having an expert on the subject give us the “for dummies” gist of the thing.
Which is annoying.
Let’s see what we have here: A partial scission (spin-off of part) of Techold Participações S.A., with part of the company transferred to Invitel S.A., and the incorporation of Argolis Participalções S.A. by Techold.
Who are who?
Techold is the majority shareholder (67% or so) in Solpart Participações, which is the controlling shareholder in Brasil Telecom Participações S.A.
Argolis Participações will be incorporated by something called Argolis Holdings, and cease to exist. Partners include Opportunity (45%) and CVC International Brazil LP (39%).
Somebody please draw me a picture.
The Folha de S. Paulo reported in January of this year:
Acionistas da Telemar Norte Leste (Oi) e da Brasil Telecom pretendem trocar as participações que detêm uma na outra. A transação poderá facilitar uma fusão entre as duas operadoras de telefonia.
Oi shareholders and Brasil Telecom shareholders plan to swap the equity each company has in the other. The transaction could facilitate a merger between the two telephone operators.
Segundo o plano, a Zain Participações e a Argolis Participações, holdings com participações indiretas em ambas as operadoras de telefonia, trocarão ativos entre si para que as duas possam concentrar seus investimentos em uma única empresa, disseram as companhias em documentos encaminhados às autoridades reguladoras na noite de anteontem.
According to the plan, Zain Participações and Argolis Participações, holding companies with indirect equity holdings in both companies, would swap assets among themselves so that both can concentrate their investments in a single company, the companies said in documents sent to regulators this week.
Invitel S.A. is held by the pension funds:
- Fundação 14 de Previdência Privada
- Caixa de Previdência dos Funcionários do Banco do Brasil – Previ
- Fundação dos Economiários Federais – Funcef
- Fundação Petrobras de Seguridade Social – Petros
- Telos – Fundação Embratel de Seguridade Social
- Zain Participações S.A.
Zain and Invitel issued the following joint statement on March 31:
As Companhias sao controladoras da Brasil Telecom Participacoes S.A.(“BrTP”) e da Brasil Telecom S.A. (“BrT”). Nos ultimos anos, os acionistas das Companhias – e, em alguns casos, as proprias Companhias – vem sendo partes de litigios, no Brasil e no exterior, relacionados ao exercicio do controle direto e indireto da BrTP e da BrT, bem como a questoes relativas a gestao das referidas Companhias e
da BrTP e BrT;
The Companies are the controlling shareholders in BrTP and Brasil Telecom S.A. In recent years, the shareholders of the Companies — and in some cases, the Companies themselves — have been parties to litigation in Brazil and abroad related to the exercise of direct and indirect control of BrTP and BrT, as well as to issues relating to the management of the Companies and of BrTP and BrT.
As Companhias foram informadas que seus acionistas estao ultimando esforcos com o objetivo de transacionar e por fim aos litigios existentes e que tais medidas se inserem no contexto da negociacao da potencial venda do controle acionario da BrT para a Telemar Participacoes S.A. e/ou suas controladas, cuja consecucao estara necessariamente condicionada a aprovacao dos acionistas das sociedades envolvidas e das autoridades competentes.
The Companies have been informed that their shareholders are concluding efforts to settle and put an end to current litigation and that such measures come as part of negotiations of a possible sale of the controlling stake in BrT to Telemar Participações and/or companies controlled by it, the execution of which sale would necessarily depend on approval by the shareholders of the companies involved and the competent authorities.
As Companhias voltarao a comunicar ao mercado imediatamente apos a consecucao de qualquer acordo ou contrato firmado no contexto de que trata o presente Comunicado.”
The Companies will communicate again with the market as soon as any settlement or contract is signed with respect to the subject of the present communication.
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