tr425-20151203n01.htm - t6k-a20140331

Filed by Telecom Italia S.p.A.

This communication is filed pursuant to Rule 425 under the United States Securities Act of 1933

Subject Company: Telecom Italia S.p.A.

Commission File Number: 001-13882

Date: December 3rd, 2015

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

In connection with the proposed transaction, Telecom Italia expects to file a registration statement on Form F-4, which will include a prospectus (the “prospectus”), and a Tender Offer statement on Schedule TO (the “Schedule TO”). The proposed offer will be made exclusively by means of, and subject to, the terms and conditions set out in, an offer document containing and setting out the terms and conditions of the offer and a letter of transmittal to be filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the

“SEC”) and mailed to shareholders.

The release, publication or distribution of this material in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law and therefore persons in such jurisdictions into which this material is released, published or distributed should inform themselves about and observe such restrictions.

SHAREHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ ANY DOCUMENTS REGARDING THE PROPOSED OFFER WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE (INCLUDING THE EXHIBITS THERETO) AS THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED OFFER.


 

TELECOM ITALIA S.p.A.

Registered Office in Milan at Via Gaetano Negri 1

General Administration and Secondary Office in Rome at Corso d’Italia 41

PEC (Certified electronic mail) box: telecomitalia@pec.telecomitalia.it Share capital 10,740,236,908.50 euros fully paid up

Tax Code, VAT Registration Number and Milan Business Register Number 00488410010:

SPECIAL MEETING OF SAVINGS SHAREHOLDERS

     17 December 2015 at 14:30 Rozzano (Milan), Viale Toscana no.3 Dear Shareholders,

As an additional document accompanying the Explanatory Report of the Common Representative of the Savings Shareholders of 17.11.2015, pursuant to the above-specified special shareholders’ meeting, we hereby deposit the opinion given by the independent advisor, KPMG Advisory S.p.A. (Annex 1), appointed to this end to provide an opinion on the fairness of the financial conditions of the operation to exchange the savings shares for ordinary shares as proposed by the Telecom Italia S.p.A. Board of Directors.

On the basis of the historical data and its processing and analytical assessments, as contained in said opinion to which reference is made, the advisor concluded - in line with the indications given by the Common Representative in his Explanatory Report -that the financial conditions of the operation to exchange savings shares for ordinary shares, as prepared by the Company’s Board of Directors, can be considered fair for the owners of savings shares.

In any case, the final assessment of the advantage of said operation will be freely determined by the special class shareholders’ meeting called for 17 December 2015 at

14.30 in Rozzano, at Viale Toscana n. 3, as per the call notice.

Cordially yours,

Milan, 26 November 2015
Mr Dario Trevisan
[signature]

The Common Representative of the Telecom Italia S.p.A. Savings Shareholders


 

(Translation from the Italian original which remains the definitive version)

Telecom Italia S.p.A.

     Fairness opinion on the financial conditions of the proposal for conversion of savings shares into ordinary shares

November 2015

KPMG Advisory S.p.A.
Corporate Finance
November 2015
Ref.: 1300059-696

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(Translation from the Italian original which remains the definitive version)

Ref.: 1300059-696

Telecom Italia S.p.A.

For the kind attention of Mr. Dario Trevisan

The Common Representative of the savings Shareholders of Telecom Italia S.p.A.

Via Gaetano Negri, 1 20123 Milan

26 November 2015

Fairness opinion on the financial conditions of the proposal for conversion of savings shares into ordinary shares

Dear Mr Trevisan,

With respect to the engagement assigned to us on 18 November 2015, we would like to inform you that we have completed our work relating to our fairness opinion on the financial conditions of the proposal for conversion of savings shares into ordinary shares.

This document summarises the objectives and limits of the engagement, the methodological references of the analysis and the results of our work. The data and quantitative elements of the analysis are presented in the annex.

1 Background and scope of work

In the context of the proposal for voluntary and mandatory conversion of the savings shares of Telecom Italia S.p.A. (“Telecom Italia” or the “Company”) into ordinary shares (the “Transaction”), we have been asked to provide the common representative of the savings shareholders (the “Common Representative”) with a fairness opinion on the financial conditions of the Transaction, in the interest of the holders of saving shares.

The Transaction entails a voluntary offer, with the exchange of savings shares for ordinary shares at a ratio of 1:1 plus cash consideration equal to Euro 0.0095 for each share. For holders of savings shares who would not accept the voluntary offer, there will be a mandatory exchange of the savings shares held into ordinary shares at a ratio of 0.87 ordinary shares per savings share.

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(Translation from the Italian original which remains the definitive version)

This opinion is provided in order to allow for the Common Representative to make all due considerations and fulfil all requirements as necessary under the scope of the documents to be made available to the special meeting of savings shareholders (the “Special Shareholders’ Meeting”).

2 Work performed

In view of the objectives set forth herein, our work comprised:

3 Documents used

Our analysis and conclusions given below are mainly based on the following public information and documents:

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(Translation from the Italian original which remains the definitive version)

4 Transaction structure

Telecom Italia is a company whose ordinary and savings shares are listed on the MTA organised and managed by Borsa Italiana S.p.A. and on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American Depositary Shares (”ADS”).

As at today’s date, the subscribed and paid-up share capital of Telecom Italia is 10,740,236,908.50 euros, divided into 13,499,911,771 ordinary shares and 6,027,791,699 savings shares, in each case with no par value. ADSs are listed instruments, each representing respectively 10 ordinary shares or savings shares.

The table below shows the Telecom Italia share capital at the Transaction date.

Breakdown of the Share Capital        
  Number of shares Price per share (04/11/2015)   Market capitalization (€)
Ordinary Shares 13,499,911,771 1.2 16,415,892,714
Savings Shares 6,027,791,699 1.0 6,024,777,803
Total 19,527,703,470     22,440,670,517

 

The Company is examining a project involving the exchange of savings shares for ordinary shares. The Transaction, according to the Telecom Italia Directors, would, amongst other advantages, simplify the share capital structure and reduce corporate requirements and the costs connected with the existence of different share classes. The Transaction would also enable the total floating stock of ordinary shares to be increased, thereby also making the Telecom Italia share more liquid.

More specifically, the Transaction is structured as a voluntary offer for savings shareholders, involving the exchange of savings shares for ordinary shares at a ratio of 1:1 plus cash consideration equal to Euro 0.095 for each share (the “Voluntary Portion").

Any savings shareholder who should not accept the offer made in the Voluntary Portion will be allocated ordinary shares mandatorily, at a ratio of 0.87 ordinary shares per savings share held (the “Mandatory Portion”). The Mandatory Portion shall not entail payment of any difference.

The newly issued ordinary shares that will be assigned to the holders of the savings shares will have the same characteristics as existing ones.

Owners of savings shares will lose all economic rights, privileges and protections of the class envisaged by the Bylaws (and described below) and will assume all administrative and equity rights pertaining to ordinary shares. The Transaction is scheduled to take effect prior to any distribution of dividends pertaining to FY 2015.

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(Translation from the Italian original which remains the definitive version)

Moreover, any savings shareholders deciding not to approve the resolutions of the Special

Shareholders’ Meeting will have the right to withdraw for all or part of their shares, from the

Company, pursuant to article 2437-ter of the Civil Code.

The effect and validity of the resolutions of the extraordinary shareholders' meeting regarding the Transaction are subject to approval by the Special Shareholders’ Meeting. More specifically, pursuant to article 146, subsection 1, letter b) of the CLFI, the Special Shareholders’ Meeting must approve the proposed mandatory exchange of savings shares.

The Transaction is also subject to the condition that the total liquidation value connected with the exercise of the right of withdrawal shall not exceed 100 million euros, without prejudice to the Company’s faculty to waive said condition.

5 Summary of the statutory rights of the savings shares

With reference to the provisions of the Telecom Italia Bylaws, the rights attributed to the shares representing the share capital relevant for the purpose of this analysis can be summarised as follows:

Pursuant to article 6 of the Company’s Bylaws, the savings shares have the following privileges:

The administrative rights of savings shares are regulated pursuant to articles 145 and 146 of the

CLFI that envisage, amongst others, the right to vote in the Special Shareholders’ Meeting only.

Moreover, pursuant to Articles 6 and 14 of the Bylaws:

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(Translation from the Italian original which remains the definitive version)

6 The trend of stock market prices of Telecom Italia ordinary and savings shares

As detailed in Annex 1, the trends of the arithmetic average prices of Telecom Italia ordinary and savings shares recorded in different time frames prior to 4 November 2015, date on which the Transaction was announced (spot recording, average at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months), show the following:

In the same time frames, the average differentials between non-convertible savings shares and ordinary shares of other issuers listed on the MTA of Borsa Italiana show an average discount of around 25%. This discount is slightly higher than the discount of the Telecom Italia savings shares.

There are 12 issuers with both share classes listed. In this respect, we note how the numerous transactions to exchange savings shares that have taken place in recent years have significantly reduced the number of observations available.

Moreover, the sample analysed does not include savings shares whose relative capitalisation is not significant, insofar as below 5% of the total capitalisation of the issuer (Unicredit, Borgosesia, Salini Impregilo, Seat PG) or influenced by announced exchange transactions (Intek Group). The sample selected is described in Annex 2.

1     

The differential between the ordinary and savings shares is calculated using the following formula: (price of savings shares/price of ordinary shares) - 1.

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(Translation from the Italian original which remains the definitive version)

7 Theoretical framework of the analysis

According to literature, the exchange ratio of shares reflects the expectations of the shareholders of each class with regards to the values of their respective equity and administrative rights.

Following the exchange, in fact, savings shareholders lose the return and equity privileges established by the law and the bylaws, acquiring the administrative rights (basically voting rights) of ordinary shareholders. Conversely, ordinary shareholders see their administrative rights diluted against a potential increase in return as a consequence of the loss of the privileged return of the savings shares.

The exchange ratio is defined by comparing the price of the ordinary share and that of the savings share in similar observation periods.

In defining the exchange ratio, as a rule two elements are considered: the price difference between the savings shares and the ordinary ones, where, generally, this difference embeds a price discount” of the savings shares compared to the ordinary ones, and a conversion premium”, generally granted to savings shareholders by way of incentive to adhere to the conversion. Empirical evidence shows that the conversion premium can be modulated in various ways by defining the exchange ratio in the strictest sense or, more indirectly, through cash payments.

In general terms, the difference in price between the shares of the different classes provides a synthetic indicator of the parameters to value the equity rights, rights to remuneration and voting rights assigned to the classes, also in relation to the size and liquidity of the free float, the degree of concentration of the control and the contendibility of the individual companies.

More specifically, the values assigned to the administrative rights of ordinary shares tend to become more relevant where the dilution resulting from the exchange can lead to expectation of changes in the control structure.

Historically on the Italian market, we have observed a premium valuation of ordinary shares with respect to savings shares, which is due to a higher valuation of the portion associated with voting rights rather than the privileged dividend typical of savings shares.

8 General approach

As described in Section 4 above, the Transaction has been structured in such a way as to recognise a premium to Telecom Italia savings shareholders, as regards to the Voluntary Portion, ranging between approximately 10% and 13%2 and, as regards the Mandatory Portion, ranging between approximately 5% and 7%.

Our fairness opinion of the financial conditions of the Transaction described above was carried out on the basis of the observation of exchange premiums attributed in similar transactions carried out in the past by listed issuers in Italy.

More specifically, exchanges of savings shares for ordinary ones were analysed, as took place in

Italy between 1999, the year after the coming into force of the CLFI and today’s date.

2     

The exchange premium is calculated according to the following formula: (price of ordinary shares - payment per share)/(price of the savings shares) - 1.

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(Translation from the Italian original which remains the definitive version)

Twenty-four different transactions were selected, regarding the exchange of non-convertible savings shares for ordinary shares. The transactions chosen refer to both voluntary and mandatory exchanges.

The exchange transactions analysed had the following characteristics:

The premiums granted, with reference to the transactions examined, were based on observations over time frames prior to the announcement date (spot recording as at the date prior to the announcement, averages at 1 month, 3 months and 6 months).

The analysis has revealed, over the time frames examined, that an exchange premium was granted to savings shareholders, of approximately 5% to 27%. This range was identified considering, within the sample of transactions analysed, only central observations, falling between the 25th percentile (range minimum) and the 75th percentile (range maximum), so as to exclude the extremes of the exchange premiums recorded. Details of the analyses are given in Annex 3.

It is noted that the exchange premiums tend to be higher where there are greater differentials between the prices of savings shares and ordinary shares.

9 Conclusions

This document presents the main reference elements useful for the assessment of the conversion conditions with reference to the Transaction.

More specifically, we based our considerations on the analysis of the premiums embedded in the conversion of savings shares into ordinary shares, granted under the scope of similar transactions that occurred within Italian market. Whose results are shown in the table below:

Summary of results                
Spot recording
  pre-announcement 1 month   3 months   6 months  
Telecom Italia exchange offer                
Premium (Voluntary Portion) 12.2 % 10.8 % 10.5 % 12.7 %
Premium (Mandatory Portion) 5.8 % 5.3 % 5.0 % 7.0 %
Premiums of conversion transactions on the Italian market              
Range minimum 4.5 % 11.8 % 9.0 % 11.9 %
Range maximum 19.6 % 25.0 % 27.0 % 26.9 %

 

The main elements of the analysis can be summarised as follows:

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(Translation from the Italian original which remains the definitive version)

between 5% and 7% for the Mandatory Portion.

On the basis of the above elements and considerations, we believe that the financial conditions of the Transaction to exchange the savings shares into ordinary shares, that the Directors intend to submit to the approval of the Special Shareholders’ Meeting, are fair in the interest of the savings shareholders under the scope of the transaction considered.

···

Regards,

KPMG Advisory S.p.A.

Maximilian P. Fiani
Partner

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(Translation from the Italian original which remains the definitive version)

Annexes

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(Translation from the Italian original which remains the definitive version)

Annex 1 - Trend of Telecom Italia shares

Ordinary and savings shares: price trend analysis

Analysis of volumes traded    
 
Telecom Italia trade volume    
No. shares (mln) Ordinary Shares Savings Shares  
04/11/2015 124.8   33.3
Average 1 month 131.0   36.3
Average 3 months 126.7   33.4
Average 6 months 122.1   30.2

 

Price analysis              
 
Analysis of premium/(discount) Telecom Italia          
Ordinary Shares Savings Shares   Premium/(Discount) Absolute val. Premium/(Discount)%  
04/11/2015 1.2   1.0 (0.2 ) (17.8 )%
Average 1 month 1.1   0.9 (0.2 ) (17.4 )%
Average 3 months 1.1   0.9 (0.2 ) (17.2 )%
Average 6 months 1.1   0.9 (0.2 ) (18.7 )%
 
 
Source: Bloomberg            

 

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(Translation from the Italian original which remains the definitive version)

Liquidity analysis            
 
Telecom Italia share ownership turnover          
€ M Ordinary Shares   Savings Shares   FTSE MIB  
04/11/2015 0.9 % 0.6 % 0.6 %
Average 1 month 22.3 % 13.9 % 13.5 %
Average 3 months 62.0 % 36.5 % 40.3 %
Average 6 months 119.6 % 66.3 % 87.3 %

 

Note: Turnover ratio calculated as a percentage of the volume of shares traded on the market and total shares issued per class, in a defined time frame.

Bid Ask Spread % Telecom Italia            
€ M Ordinary Shares   Savings Shares     FTSE MIB  
04/11/2015 0.1 %   0.1 % 0.1 %
Average 1 month 0.1 %   0.1 % 0.1 %
Average 3 months 0.1 %   0.2 % 0.1 %
Average 6 months 0.1 %   0.2 % 0.1 %

 

Note: difference between the bid price (cash) and the ask price (letter) applied by an operator. The bid price is the price at which an operator is willing to purchase a financial instrument. The ask price is the price at which an operator is willing to sell a financial instrument.

Volatility analysis                    
 
Telecom Italia volatility analysis                  
 
  Volatility_30D   Volatility_90D     Volatility_180D   Volatility_360D  
Ordinary Shares 50.1 %   40.5 %   35.3 % 33.9 %
Savings Shares 43.1 %   36.5 %   32.3 % 31.8 %
FTSE MIB 22.0 %   30.3 %   26.2 % 25.9 %
 
 
Analysts Target price analysis                  
 
Target price analysis                    
  Share target price Share target price      
Analyst Date   Ordinary     Savings Premium/(Discount) %  
Barclays 27/10/2015   1.1       0.9   (18.2 )%
Equita 06/10/2015   1.3       1.1   (15.4 )%
JP Morgan 26/10/2015   1.4       1.1   (19.7 )%
Deutsche Bank 11/05/2015   1.2       1.0   (15.3 )%
UBS 08/05/2015   0.6       0.5   (20.0 )%
 
Source: Bloomberg                    

 

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(Translation from the Italian original which remains the definitive version)

Annex 2 - Analysis of ordinary and savings share prices for a sample of listed shares

Analysis of the premium for ordinary shares vs savings shares                    
          Analysis of Premium/(Discount) %      
  Price (€) Price (€) Mkt Cap                  
  (share (share (% share       Average 1   Average 3   Average 6  
Company savings) ordinary) savings)   04/11/2015   month   months   months  
Banco di Desio e della Brianza SpA 2.7 3.1 9.1 % (11.5 )% (14.2 )% (14.8 )% (15.2 )%
Buzzi Unicem SpA 9.2 15.4 12.8 % (40.4 )% (40.4 )% (39.7 )% (38.8 )%
Danieli & C Officine Meccaniche SpA 14.0 19.9 41.1 % (29.5 )% (27.3 )% (25.0 )% (25.2 )%
Intesa San Paolo 2.8 3.1 5.1 % (8.5 )% (8.9 )% (9.5 )% (11.0 )%
Italmobiliare SpA 27.6 42.8 32.2 % (35.6 )% (35.2 )% (33.9 )% (36.9 )%
Isagro SpA 1.1 1.5 29.8 % (26.5 )% (23.7 )% (25.6 )% (26.9 )%
SAES Getters SpA 7.2 8.1 30.8 % (11.3 )% (13.0 )% (11.3 )% (14.5 )%
Median of sample mkt shares Savings > 5%       (26.5 )% (23.7 )% (25.0 )% (25.2 )%

 

Notes:

·

The sample does not include the following non-convertible savings shares: Borgosesia S.p.A., Salini Impregilo S.p.A., Unicredit S.p.A., Intek Group S.p.A., Seat Pagine Gialle S.p.A.

·

Discount calculated as: “(Savings shares - Ordinary shares)/ Ordinary shares”.

 

Source: Bloomberg

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(Translation from the Italian original which remains the definitive version)

Annex 3 - Exchange premium analysis

Analysis of (absolute) exchange premiums                          
 
  Date of Mkt Cap   Exchange   Amount of Absolute exchange premiums  
Company   (% savings     Ratio balance                
  announcement shares)   type   payment 1 day 1 month   3 months   6 months  
RCS (Shares A) 28/03/2014 4.5 % Voluntary 1/1 0.3 12.7 % 19.8 % 31.9 % 43.0 %
RCS (Shares B) 28/03/2014 8.0 % Voluntary 1/1 0.7 20.2 % 38.7 % 47.5 % 59.1 %
Indesit Company S.p.A. 23/03/2005 2.1 % Voluntary 1/1   5.7 % 7.9 % 7.3 % 7.7 %
Merloni Elettrodomestici                            
S.p.A. 27/03/2001 11.1 % Voluntary 3/5   10.5 % 19.6 % 19.7 % 20.7 %
Saes Getters 27/07/2004 26.4 % Voluntary 20/31   13.0 % 20.2 % 16.7 % 16.8 %
IFIL S.p.A. 03/03/2003 39.5 % Voluntary 17/20   13.1 % 15.4 % 17.4 % 16.8 %
Buzzi Unicem 23/11/2000 23.5 % Voluntary 16/25   3.4 % 4.6 % 6.4 % 12.2 %
RAS 26/03/1999 26.8 % Voluntary 1/1 1.1 3.3 % 25.7 % N.A.   N.A.  
Unipol (Shares A) 07/01/2014 3.7 % Mandatory 100/1   27.8 % 28.9 % 27.6 % 25.2 %
Unipol (Shares B) 07/01/2014 12.9 % Mandatory 1/1   8.6 % 12.8 % 11.7 % 11.7 %
Indesit Company S.p.A. 21/03/2014 0.4 % Mandatory 1/1   5.2 % 5.8 % 7.6 % 11.7 %
Italcementi S.p.A. 05/03/2014 27.5 % Mandatory 0.65/1   19.8 % 21.6 % 21.3 % 21.9 %
Exor S.p.A. 11/02/2013 3.5 % Mandatory 1/1   10.2 % 14.8 % 14.4 % 17.5 %
Fiat S.p.A. 26/10/2011 4.5 % Mandatory 0.875/1   27.9 % 26.6 % 24.4 % 20.0 %
Fiat Industrial S.p.A. 26/10/2011 3.6 % Mandatory 0.725/1   37.2 % 33.5 % 33.7 % 28.6 %
Caltagirone S.p.A. 15/05/2007 0.9 % Mandatory 1/1   (2.6 )% (0.4 )% 0.4 % 0.1 %
Valentino Fashion Group 03/11/2005 4.4 % Mandatory 1/1   17.5 % 20.3 % 22.9 % N.A.  
S.p.A.                            
Intek S.p.A. 16/12/2003 17.6 % Mandatory 1/1   3.1 % 2.3 % 1.4 % 1.4 %
Banca Finnat Euramerica 22/09/2003 35.4 % Mandatory 1/1   21.8 % 19.4 % 18.4 % 18.2 %
S.p.A.                            
Pininfarina S.p.A. 29/03/2004 0.7 % Mandatory 1/1   4.2 % 11.7 % 9.5 % 12.1 %
NGP S.p.A. 13/05/2003 15.3 % Mandatory 1/1   2.4 % 11.8 % N.A.   N.A.  
Alleanza Toro S.p.A. 12/11/2001 12.5 % Mandatory 1/1   27.9 % 31.1 % 40.8 % 49.4 %
Cofide S.p.A. 14/12/2001 20.9 % Mandatory 1/1   4.1 % 5.8 % 4.2 % 8.8 %
Recordati S.p.A. 15/09/2000 31.7 % Mandatory 16/25   13.6 % 16.1 % 9.9 % 13.9 %
CIR S.p.A. 12/09/2000 20.2 % Mandatory 1/1   14.8 % 22.7 % 26.8 % 32.5 %
Finpart S.p.A. 24/01/2000 16.7 % Mandatory 1/1   19.2 % 44.7 % 41.7 % 38.7 %
Range minimum             4.5 % 11.8 % 9.0 % 11.9 %
Range maximum             19.6 % 25.0 % 27.0 % 26.9 %
 
Source: Bloomberg                          

 

 

The registration statement, the Schedule TO and other related documents in relation to the proposed offer will be available electronically without charge at the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov, after they have been filed.

 

 

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