Brazilian operator Oi has denied any breach in its merger contract with Portugal Telecom that could justify unwinding the deal. Shareholders and stakeholders at PT have called for the merger to be re-considered, since Oi has agreed to sell the main Portuguese assets of the group.
Oi said the sale agreement does not constitute a breach of the merger terms, as the sale is still subject to approval by shareholders of Portugal Telecom SGPS. If they do not approve the sale of PT Portugal to Altice at the EGM 22 January, there will be no sale, Oi said.
In response to the statement from Oi and a request for further clarification from the Portuguese regulator CMVM, Portugal Telecom said it's clear that any attempt to cancel the merger would result in legal action by Oi, as well as other interested parties, "inevitably creating a process of detsruction of value for all parties involved".
PT said it will uphold its fiduciary duties to provide shareholders with any information necessary to decide on the proposed transaction. However, the company noted that the earlier released report by PwC on the operator's debt transaction with Rio Forte will not be the subject of the shareholders meeting.
