German industrial conglomerate Findim Group SpA on Monday submitted its slate of five candidates to take over as directors of Italy's Telecom Italia. According to a report by Reuters, Findim is a rebel investor in Telecom Italia which wants the board of the company to have a management shakeup at a shareholder meeting this week.
Reuters said Marco Fossati is the chairman and chief executive officer of Findim. The rebel investor currently owns a 5% stake in Telecom Italia. It is the Italian telecom company's third-biggest shareholder after US money manager BlackRock Inc. increased its stake to 9.97%, the report said.
In a later report, Reuters said BlackRock had issued an amendment to a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing made on December 10. The said filing had put the size of BlackRock's stake in Telecom Italia at 10.14%.
BlackRock's stake hike in Telecom Italia became controversial after allegedly withholding it from Italy's SEC. A 10.14% stake could have also given the fund manager a pivotal role in this week's shareholder vote.
The list submitted by Findim for Telecom Italia's board includes Vito Gamberale and Franco Lombardi. Gamberale is the head of investment fund F2i, while Lombardi is the president of Telecom Italia shareholder group ASATI, the report said.
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