Telefonica/Vivo: Ursa minor

If all else fails, try a bear hug. That may be Telefonica’s thinking in going on public on its bid for Portugal Telecom’s stake in Vivo, their Brazilian joint venture. Longstanding talks with PT have come to nought. As did the Spaniards’ attempt to use their 10% PT stake as a bargaining chip during the PT takeover battle, which ended in March. They struck a deal with the losing side. By dangling E3bn before PT’s investors, Telefonica seems to be trying a new tack. It’s easy to see why Telefonic...