Brazil’s Association of Minority Shareholders (Associacao dos Investidores Minoritarios, Aidmin) has reportedly filed a petition with the 7th Corporate Court of the District of the Capital of the State of Rio de Janeiro to block the proposed sale of Oi’s stake in Timor Telecom (TT), writes Valor Economico. Earlier this month the Brazilian telecoms company requested the authorisation of the court for the sale of TT to Investel Communications for approximately USD36 million, in addition to the payment of the Timorese operator’s debts to Oi in the amount of USD26 million. Aidmin, however, has allegedly questioned the sale and petitioned Judge Fernando Viana to not authorise the proposed deal until the terms and conditions can be analysed by Oi and other parties involved in the firm’s judicial recovery process. In addition, the minority shareholders claim that the sale of TT was conducted without the market being informed of the progress of the negotiations, which they argue prevented interested third parties from emerging.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, the deal involves a 54.01% shareholding in TT, controlled by Telecomunicacoes Publicas de Timor (TPT), in which Oi owns 76.14%, in addition to a direct 3.05% stake held by PT Participacoes SGPS. The Timorese government currently holds a 20.59% stake in TT, with the remaining shareholders being VDT Operator Holdings (17.86%) and local businessman Julio Alfaro (4.49%).