AT&T Can Learn From Billionaire Singer's Italian Experience
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- To understand Elliott Management Corp.’s plans for AT&T Inc., it’s worth examining how it tackled a relative telecommunications minnow in Europe. The activist investor’s 2018 fight for control of Telecom Italia SpA may have provided something of a dry run.
Last year, after revealing its stake in the Italian carrier, the fund run by combative billionaire Paul Singer started with a relatively short and straightforward list of proposals: improve governance, replace the board and divest some fixed and mobile network assets to reduce debt. Over the subsequent months, perhaps as it ascertained what resonated best with other shareholders, the strategy evolved into a more extensive array of requests dressed with a more constructive air.
By the end of the year, Singer had realized the goals that were supposed to right the ship. Elliott had installed a new chief executive officer, Luigi Gubitosi, who won support on expectations he would be better able to execute a turnaround program. Conveniently, Gubitosi, an Italian with a private equity background, appears more open to putting a for-sale sign on assets that Elliott wants Telecom Italia to shed.
With AT&T, Elliott started off the bat with a more exhaustive set of proposals akin to those it took months to develop at Telecom Italia: operational improvements, a portfolio review, better governance, a halt to acquisitions, and an exhortation for AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson to “align management skills,” which seems to hint at personnel changes. That could mean trying to prevent the ascent of John Stankey, AT&T’s chief operating officer and heir apparent for the top role.
As AT&T investors and employees dig into the details, they should ignore the noise and focus on what are probably Elliott’s ultimate goals. That doesn’t mean it will be a smooth ride for either side. Telecom Italia stock is down almost 30% from the levels at which Elliott likely bought in, and selling assets will probably take a long time. The company’s biggest shareholder, French media conglomerate Vivendi SA, has fought Elliot at every turn. At AT&T, Elliott is pushing for what looks like a more constructive approach, but the fund’s core ambitions are surely the divestment of assets, including the shrinking DirectTV business and perhaps even parts of the phone network.
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U.S. carriers have so far largely avoided putting their fixed-network assets up for sale, but there’s plenty of appetite from funds such as KKR & Co. to invest in the infrastructure that supports the data economy. In Europe, similar assets have been sold for close to 20 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Elliot has also taken a page from its agenda with German business-software giant SAP SE, calling on AT&T to a halt any new acquisition plans to focus on better integrating purchases it already has in motion. That complements the Telecom Italia strategy by ruling out moves that may add to the debt pile when the goal is to reduce it.
There are differences, of course. Telecom Italia was a proxy fight to secure board control. That’s not on the table at AT&T – at least, not yet. And building a meaningful enough stake in the $274 billion American firm for such a fight would be tough. But the trajectory seems the same.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Melissa Pozsgay at mpozsgay@bloomberg.net
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
Alex Webb is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Europe's technology, media and communications industries. He previously covered Apple and other technology companies for Bloomberg News in San Francisco.
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