The suit filed by TIW for the dissolution of Newtel is likely to accelerate an agreement with financial group Opportunity, after years of disputes for control of Telemig Celular and Amazônia Celular, says a close observer of the saga. ?I believe Opportunity will be sufficiently embarrassed by being taken to court to come around to the idea of a deal with TIW,? says the source. The probable outcome will be for Opportunity to acquire TIW?s 49% stake in Telpart, the holding company for Telemig and Amazônia Celular. The problem is the price. Until recently TIW had no bargaining power since no one except Opportunity is interested in acquiring its share in Telpart. Moreover, TIW isn?t exactly in good financial health: indeed, that?s one of the main reasons for the Canadian telecoms group?s decision to sell operations in Brazil. The lawsuit changes everything. TIW now has a lever against Opportunity, according to the source.
TIW accuses Opportunity and pension funds of committing a number of illegal acts when they founded Newtel and guaranteed control by combining their respective stakes in Telpart. In particular, it claims, Previ transferred its shares after Anatel Resolution 101 came into force. This resolution restricts changes of ownership in telecommunications companies. TIW claims that the documents filed with Anatel by Newtel were riddled with fraudulent signatures and dates in order to make the regulator believe the transfer occurred before the resolution was published. The suit was filed on December 13 and has been distributed to Judge Carlos Eduardo Tassara of the 2nd Corporate Court of Rio de Janeiro.
Shareholder dispute
