TIM Brasil CEO says Telefonica may absent itself from decisions concerning the Brazilian telco

Reuters quotes TIM Participacoes (TIM Brasil) chief executive Rodrigo Abreu as saying that parent group Telecom Italia (TI) may suggest to Brazilian regulators that the Italian firm’s key shareholder, Telefonica of Spain, continue to abstain from decisions affecting the Brazilian telecoms operator. With the Madrid-based giant having upped its stake in TI, concerns have resurfaced over how the two carriers run what are ostensibly rival businesses in Brazil. Speaking this week in Rio de Janeiro however, Abreu says one suggestion to resolve this would be for both sides to extend the 2007 agreement for Telefonica’s representatives on the TI board to refrain from voting on decisions related to Brazil. His proposal is designed to allay antimonopoly/antitrust concerns from some quarters who are against an effective merger of Brazil’s two biggest carriers – Telefonica Brazil (Vivo) and TIM Brasil. Further, in the wake of suggestions that the Italian group is looking to sell its 67% stake in the Brazilian asset, Abreu flatly denied that any such plan was currently in place.