Brasil Telecom Attacks Telecom Italia, Telefonica On CRT
Dow Jones Newswires
SAO PAULO -- Brasil Telecom (TCS) said Friday that Telecom Italia Spa (I.TIL) and Telefonica SA (TEF) have released inaccurate information regarding Brasil Telecom's proposal to purchase Companhia Riograndense de Telecomunicacoes SA (E.CRT), or CRT, from Telefonica.
In a statement, Brasil Telecom, formerly known as Tele Centro Sul, refuted Telecom Italia's statements blaming the Opportunity group, Brasil Telecom's majority shareholder, for the failure of the talks to purchase CRT, a fixed-line operator.
Telecom Italia is also a shareholder in Brasil Telecom, with a significant minority stake.
Brasil Telecom characterized statements by Telecom Italia and Telefonica on the CRT sale as "misleading, inaccurate and even wrong."
The Opportunity group and Telecom Italia have been fighting over how much Brasil Telecom should bid for a controlling stake in CRT, which is owned by Telefonica.
Telefonica was ordered to sell its 32% stake in CRT because it already operates fixed-line telephone services in Sao Paulo through its subsidiary Telesp (TSP) and is ineligible to control another fixed-line operator in the same area.
During negotiations, Telecom Italia said it was willing to pay $850 million for CRT, a greater amount than Brasil Telecom's $730 million proposal.
Since Telefonica and Brasil Telecom were unable to reach an agreement over the sale of CRT by the Monday deadline, Brazilian telecommunications regulator Anatel announced Tuesday it was taking control of CRT until April 2001.
In Friday's statement, Brasil Telecom, which operates fixed-line telephony in nine Brazilian states, criticized the fact that Telefonica missed the first deadline for the CRT sale, which expired on Feb. 4.
In the beginning of the year, Telefonica promoted an auction for the sale of CRT, fixing the price of the operator at $1.09 billion.
According to Brasil Telecom's statement, the auction was a "unilateral move" by Telefonica, which set a price that was considered too high by all participants.
Brasil Telecom was the only bidder with an offer of $730 million.
Then, in the beginning of March, Telecom Italia signed a contract with Telefonica in which it proposed to pay $850 million for CRT.
Telefonica said the deal, presented to Anatel, was reached with the participation of Brasil Telecom.
However, Friday's statement said Brasil Telecom wasn't aware of and didn't sign the proposal.
"This information is mistaken. The 'contract' presented to the government was only signed by Telefonica and Telecom Italia," said the statement.
Anatel said it will investigate within the next 180 days whether the controlling shareholders purposely blocked the sale of CRT.
-By Adriana Brasileiro, Dow Jones Newswires;
(5511) 9635-1387; adriana.brasileiro@dowjones.com |
