* Full-year revenues up 8.6%
* Takes impairment cost of 200 mln euros on Gameloft (Provides CEO touch upon TIM’s turnaround plan)
PARIS/MILAN, March 9 (Reuters) – Vivendi took a 728 million euro ($805 million) writedown on its stake in Telecom Italia in 2021, the French media group mentioned on Wednesday, because it reported a doubling in core working earnings over the identical interval.
The Paris-based firm, whose prime investor is billionaire Vincent Bollore, is the most important shareholder of the previous Italian monopoly with a 24% stake, which displays a complete preliminary funding within the firm of three.9 billion euros since 2015.
Personal fairness agency KKR made a non-binding method to Telecom Italia (TIM) in November which was pitched at 0.505 euro per share, valuing Italy’s largest telecoms firm at 10.8 billion euros.
By comparability, Vivendi’s common buy value of Telecom Italia shares was 1.07 euros every, whereas the corporate’s present ebook worth for TIM shares is 0.63 euro towards 0.83 euro per share as of June 2021, in line with a Reuters calculation primarily based on accessible paperwork.
A Vivendi spokesperson mentioned the precise determine for the ebook worth for TIM was 0.657 euro per share. TIM shares closed on Wednesday at 0.26 euro every.
In a name with reporters, Vivendi CEO Arnaud de Puyfontaine praised the latest appointment of TIM’s new boss, Pietro Labriola, and confirmed that KKR’s preliminary method undervalued the cellphone firm.
“It’s a turning level for Telecom Italia,” he mentioned. “We take into account its worth very a lot larger than its present share value and that of the digital worth talked about by KKR in its assertion of intent.”
Vivendi helps Labriola’s turnaround plan for TIM, de Puyfontaine added.
A TIM board assembly to attract up a response to the KKR proposal can be held on Sunday as soon as TIM’s advisers full an evaluation to match TIM’s deliberate in-house revamp with KKR’s plan, two sources near the matter mentioned.
Vivendi mentioned it additionally took an impairment cost of 200 million euros on its wholly-owned cellular video game-maker Gameloft, reflecting a decline of the division’s efficiency.
The corporate greater than doubled its earnings earlier than curiosity, tax and amortisation final yr to 690 million euros because of sturdy progress at its pay-TV group Canal Plus, promoting unit Havas and publishing division Editis.
Vivendi didn’t present targets for the present yr.
$1 = 0.9039 euros Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain and Elvira Pollina Modifying by Mark Potter, Leslie Adler and Jane Merriman