MILAN, Nov 6 (Reuters) – Vivendi, the biggest shareholder of Telecom Italia (TIM), is reportedly ready to start talks with Italy’s new right-wing government on a plan to create a national landline champion, people said on Sunday. sources close to the French conglomerate.
Debt-ridden Telecom Italia has been embroiled in negotiations for months over the sale of its fixed telephony network to the Italian Caisse des Depots (CDP).
The potential sale was part of a previous government-sponsored plan to merge TIM’s landline assets with those of rival Open Fiber to create a national network champion under the control of Caisse des Depots.
However, regulatory issues have thwarted efforts so far and plans to create a single network company are currently being reassessed by the new government, which was sworn in last month.
On Saturday, Under-Secretary to Cabinet Alessio Butti told Sky that he considered the creation of a single broadband company a ‘priority’, adding that he would soon begin talks with all parties stakeholders, including the CDP, on a new version of the project.
Alessio Butti had previously asked CDP to continue the single network project by taking over TIM, under a plan dubbed “Minerva”.
Under the plan, TIM would retain the network while divesting itself of its services business and listed unit in Brazil to reduce leverage.
Sources close to Vivendi said on Sunday that the conglomerate appreciated Alessio Butti’s openness to dialogue and reaffirmed the company’s willingness to start discussions to find a quick solution.
In her inaugural address to parliament, Italy’s new council president Giorgia Meloni pledged to keep national strategic networks state-owned, while allowing telecom companies to compete on services.
Treasury-owned CDP, which controls Open Fiber, is TIM’s second largest shareholder with a 10% stake. Vivendi holds a 24% stake in TIM. (Report Elvira Pollina; written by Elvira Pollina and Francesca Landini, French version Kate Entringer)