French media giant Vivendi has again urged the auditors of Telecom Italia (TIM) and Italian market regulator Consob to further investigate a series of governance issues at the operator. Vivendi, which remains TIM’s top shareholder with a 24 percent stake, released a statement calling for an in-depth investigation after TIM’s auditors issued a report indicating irregularities in the way information was shared with the company’s board members prior to the sacking of chief executive Amos Genish in November. Vivendi claims board members appointed by US activist fund Elliott conspired to replace Genish, a former Vivendi executive.
In its statement, the French company asked six governance-related questions, including “why did the chairman organise the preparatory meeting concerning the dismissal of Amos Genish with the sole participation of the ten board members designated by Elliott?”. TIM’s shareholders are due to meet on 29 March to examine a proposal by Vivendi to remove five directors appointed by Elliott, including chairman Fulvio Conti on grounds of a “substantial lack of independence”.
Vivendi’s latest call for a probe comes after TIM’s board backed the chairman following a meeting to respond to the auditors’ report. In a statement issued last week the company reasserted Conti’s independence and underlined that “the board… reiterates its full confidence in the work of the chairman.”
