Carlos Slim, the richest man in the world and owner of América Móvil, is taking action in response to Telefónica's offensive in Germany. Several days ago Telefónica, run by Spanish businessman César Alierta, announced a merger with E-Plus, a German subsidiary of KPN. Slim owns 29.9% of KPN. This means that the Mexican telecom magnate will lose positioning in Europe, but he is not prepared to give up without a fight.
Yesterday Slim threatened to break his agreement with KPN, which could lead to a takeover of the Dutch company. This would stymie the deal with Telefónia and prevent the Spanish telecom from becoming the biggest operator in Germany and the second-biggest in Europe. Similar to what happened on the other side of the Atlantic, Slim is not going to give the Spanish multinational one moment of peace, and the hostilities that he brings against Spain will spread to the rest of the continent.
During América Móvil's last board meeting, Slim assured that there were not going to be any cooperativism, but Slim did not say there would be no counterstrike. In this war both companies could suffer grave losses. If Slim can put a stop to the deal with KPN, then Telefónica's business and strategy in Germany, the United Kingdom and Brasil will be turned upside down.
Ratings agencies are going after América Móvil, so the company could suffer if it does not reach its goal. For once, it looks like Telefónica is the favorite in this battle. As Alierta watches for Slim's reaction, the Mexican businessman does not have time on his side. If Slim unravels his business with KPN and blocks the Telefónica/KPN deal, he will have just one month to resolve his corporativism strategy.
