Incumbent Telecom Italia CEO Marco Patuano has ruled out merging with a local competitor, but noted that other players could consolidate.
Patuano told an Italian parliamentary hearing that TI does not need to merge with another local operator as to do…
Incumbent Telecom Italia CEO Marco Patuano has ruled out merging with a local competitor, but noted that other players could consolidate.
Patuano told an Italian parliamentary hearing that TI does not need to merge with another local operator as to do so would “create dominant positions”, Reuters reported.
All the same, Patuano referred to his company’s talks with Hong Kong’s Hutchison Whampoa earlier this year, noting that a merger agreement between their mobile units could not be reached.
The CEO also remarked on rumours of a potential merger between Hutchison’s H3G and VimpelCom’s Wind – Italy’s fourth and third largest mobile operators respectively.
Patuano had already commented on a potential H3G-Wind merger at a recent investor roadshow, saying it is “an open secret” that the companies are in talks. H3G and VimpelCom declined to comment on the matter, while Wind could not be reached for comment.
Findim’s interest in bond issue too late
Meanwhile, TI has said minority shareholder Findim’s interest in its recent €1.3bn convertible bond offering came too late to be acted upon.
The telco issued a short statement saying that its joint bookrunners for the transaction received no response to calls to Findim, controlled by businessman Marco Fossati, during the first part of the placement process. Later, while the process was still ongoing, TI said it discerned that Findim, which owns just less than 5% of TI shares, had no interest in taking part. According to TI, Findim expressed interest only after the process closed, meaning its request could not be fulfilled.
Findim and small TI shareholders’ association Asati have criticised the telco’s new strategic plan, arguing that it caters for only majority shareholders’ interests. Last week, Asati contacted securities market regulator Consob to request publication of minutes from a recent TI board meeting and additional information.
A couple of days later, the telco’s offices were raided by Consob and financial police in connection with the convertible bond, planned disposals and policies and procedures surrounding confidential information.
