Italian Minister of Economy says Telecom Italia network may be spun off and leased to third party (translated)
04 AUG 2017
Telecom Italia (TI) [BIT:TIM] could spin off its telephone network and lease it out to a third party, Italian-language daily La Repubblica reported. The report cited the Italian Minister of Economy, Carlo Padoan, who said that such a move would improve efficiency and competition.
The report also said that an Italian government committee with the power to apply "golden power" rules on companies deemed strategic to the Italian national interest will meet today (4 August) to discuss the TI dossier following government suspicions it has fallen under the control of French media group Vivendi [EPA:VIV].
The report further said the government is considering using the powers because TI is considered strategic to the national interest because of its ownership of the Sparkle fibre optic cable network. If the powers are invoked, Telecom Italia could be forced to sell a controlling stake in Sparkle to a privately held Italian company, the report added. However, according to the item, today the committee will restrict itself to asking for clarifications from Vivendi on its future plans for TI.
The report said, once Vivendi responds, the committee will have 15 days to decide whether to take action by forcing a Sparkle sell-off or fining Vivendi a minimum of EUR 298m