Vivendi looks to substantially increase stake in Telecom Italia
Vivendi, the listed French media group, is looking to increase its stake in Telecom Italia (TI) well beyond the 8.5% stake that it is acquiring off listed Spanish telco Telefonica, Italian language daily Milano Finanza reported. The report cited sources close to the dossier who said that Vivendi is looking to increase its stake in TI to 15%-20%. The report said that the holding would be considered strategic and long-term.
The report said that Vivendi would boost its stake by buying shares on the market rather than acquiring them from existing TI shareholders.
The report noted that Vivendi is acquiring the 8.5% stake in TI as part of a wider deal with Telefonica in which it will also sell Brazilian telco GVT to Telefonica. The report said that Vivendi is expected to take formal control of the TI stake in February 2015.
TI has a market cap of EUR 16.61bn.
Source Milano Finanza daily edition