Members of Telecom Italia major shareholding group, Telco, are reportedly looking to sell their stakes by 28 September, fuelling speculation that the Italian incumbent could become a takeover target.
Members of Telco, which owns 22.4% of Telecom Italia,…
Members of Telecom Italia major shareholding group, Telco, are reportedly looking to sell their stakes by 28 September, fuelling speculation that the Italian incumbent could become a takeover target.
Members of Telco, which owns 22.4% of Telecom Italia, agreed in February 2012 to renew their shareholders’ agreement for a further three years. However, they have the right to request early withdrawal from the holding group by 28 September this year.
Italian bank Mediobanca is leading the sales process, according to a Reuters report. The other Telco members are Spanish telco Telefonica and Italian financial organisations Assicurazioni Generali and Intesa Sanpaolo.
The report cited a source familiar with the situation as saying that if Mediobanca has not offloaded the shares by the 28 September deadline, it will sell them on the market.
Assicurazioni Generali is also looking to sell but needs to find a buyer which can afford to pay a heavy premium on Telecom Italia’s market value, a source was quoted as saying.
While Intesa Sanpaolo is open to selling its shares, one of the sources was quoted as saying that Telefoncia, which owns the largest stake in Telco, wants to keep the holding group’s shareholder structure as it is and would take action if its control was threatened.
A spokesperson for Assicurazioni Generali declined to comment on the matter. Intesa Sanpaolo and Mediobanca were not immediately available for comment.
However, Mediobanca has said in the past that it is open to selling its indirect stake in Telecom Italia but wants to ensure the buyer will guide the telco in the right direction.
UK mobile giant Vodafone’s agreement, announced yesterday, to sell its 45% stake in US wireless carrier Verizon Wireless to telco Verizon Communications for US$130bn has prompted analysts to speculate that Telecom Italia – and other European assets – may become takeover targets.
At the time of writing, Telecom Italia shares were up 1.18% to €0.557 each.
