Mediobanca has joined Assicurazioni Generali in requesting the demerger of Telco, the holding company that is Telecom Italia’s (TI’s) largest shareholder.
The Italian bank said it wants to withdraw from Telco, which has a 22.4% stake in the Italian…
Mediobanca has joined Assicurazioni Generali in requesting the demerger of Telco, the holding company that is Telecom Italia’s (TI’s) largest shareholder.
The Italian bank said it wants to withdraw from Telco, which has a 22.4% stake in the Italian incumbent, “at the first date available” under the shareholders’ agreement.
“This exercise in the natural next step in the process of exiting the bank’s investment in Telecom Italia, announced in June last year when the guidelines of Mediobanca’s 2014/16 strategic plan were unveiled.”
Insurer Generali decided last week to exercise its right to exit Telco, whose other members are Spanish telco Telefonica and Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo.
Mediobanca, which reduced its stake in Telco from 11.6% to 7.3% in September 2013, said it will record a one-time gain of about €110m on the investment based on TI’s current stock prices, in addition to the €67m gain it booked in the first half of the fiscal year.
Telco members have written down their stakes numerous times over the years, however TI’s stock price has risen steadily since Marco Patuno took over as CEO last October and a new strategic plan was implemented. Mediobanca noted that the Borsa Italiana-listed telco’s share price has risen 65% since September 2013, compared with 13% for the wider European telecoms sector.
Telefonica, Telco’s lead investor, will own about a 15% direct stake in TI once the holding group is unwound. Intesa Sanpaolo has also indicated that it intends to exit Telco soon.
