Sunny day in Piazza Affari for the Telecom Italia stock, which in mid-morning gains almost four points, among the best gains on the Ftse Mib. The wave of purchases comes in anticipation of the board on Thursday, where the president Franco Bernabè will lead the proposed merger with 3 Italia (company that up to now has always closed its financial statements in the red). The Chinese group Hutchinson Whampoa, which controls 3 Italia, would in fact like to obtain the relative majority in Telecom Italia.
According to the latest rumors, some Telecom directors – including Tarak Ben Ammar – would be in favor of examining the proposal. The position of the large shareholders of the parent company Telco (Mediobanca with Renato Pagliaro, Generali with Gabriele Galateri, Intesa Sanpaolo with Gaetano Miccichè and Telefonica with Cesar Alierta) is less clear.
But there are difficulties. The Chinese would value Telecom at around 2,5 billion euros (sum assuming a multiple of 9 times EBITDA). Hutchison could reach 25% of the capital and in a second moment the tycoon Li Ka-Shing could rise up to 29,9% (without reaching the tender offer threshold) by purchasing other shares on the market.
But it's not over. There would also be problems on the regulatory front: Telecom Italia and 3 Italia together would have 45% of the mobile telephony market in our country and the opposition of theAntitrust eventual merger seems inevitable.
