According to a report to Reuters from an anonymous source, Telefonica is reviewing an ofer to assist fellow investors in beleaguered Telecom Italia to unload their shares. This assistance would result in the diminution of the overall debt to be absorbed by the Spanish telecommunications firm should it eventually buyout the Italian telecommunications firm.
The source said, "Telefonica does not want to leave empty handed, but the challenge is finding a solution that offers liquidity to Telco stakeholders without increasing Telefonica's debt." The statement did not go into detail on the how the solution would be like under the circumstances.
Telefonica owns 46% of holding company Telco, which in turn owns 10.5% in Telecom Italia. The holding firm is a consortium of corporations which include Italian investors Mediobanca, Generali and Intesa Sanpaolo.
These investors are preparing to sell of their shares upon the first opportunity to exit the shareholder agreement by September 28. This was again confirmed by anonymous sources.
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