Findim Group announced it would be willing to back a share sale of Telecom Italia on one condition. Findim said it wanted to see a business plan that would detail strategies for the company's growth. Marco Fossati of Findim Group told Bloomberg in an interview, "In order for Findim to participate in an eventual Telecom Italia capital increase, our group would need a strategic business plan that will create real value for the phone company, on which the management's credibility will hang."
Findim has a 5% stake in Telecom Italia, a Milan-based telephone and data transmissions provider. It is the second largest stakeholder in Telecom Italia.
Bloomberg reported that Telecom Italia Chief Executive Officer Franco Bernabe was under pressure to sell due to its debt. Telecom Italia was placed under review by rating firm and the possibility of a debt downgrade to junk loomed. Bloomberg reported that if Telecom Italia would get a non-investment grade rating, it would triple the market value of its EUR 28.8 billion debt.
Telco SpA composed Telefonica SA (TEF), Mediobanca SpA, Assicurazioni Generali SpA (G) and Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP) together hold a 22.5% stake of of Telecom Italia. In February last year, the firms agreed to a renewal of their agreement for three more years. The contract also provided for an exit option in September this year and August next year. A source told Bloomber that the partners may use the September window revoke that agreement.
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