Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris has reportedly proposed to acquire a significant stake in Telecom Italia via a €3bn (US$3.89bn) capital increase to be open to all shareholders.
Reuters quoted Sawiris as saying the increase should be carried out at…
Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris has reportedly proposed to acquire a significant stake in Telecom Italia via a €3bn (US$3.89bn) capital increase to be open to all shareholders.
Reuters quoted Sawiris as saying the increase should be carried out at the current market price which, at €0.67 per share at the time of writing, is less than half of the €1.50 per share at which Telecom Italia’s core shareholders value the company.
Current shareholders include Spanish telecoms group Telefonica, Telco – a group of three Italian financial organisations – and Findim Group, the holding company of Italy’s Rossati family.
Telecom Italia’s board is set to meet on 6 December to discuss Sawiris’ proposed investment in the company. The Milan-based telco issued a statement on 12 November confirming Sawiris had expressed an interest in investing in the company via a capital increase. Sawiris’ stated aim was to give the company new resources to invest in growth projects, according to the statement.
A Telecom Italia spokesperson declined to comment. Sawiris was not immediately available for further comment.
