After the recent boom (+30% in a month), the realizations on the Telecom Italia stock continue today, which is down by about one percentage point by mid-morning. Investors' attention is always kept up by the whirlwind of rumors about the possible reorganization of the shareholding structure.
The latest rumors speak of an offer made by Telefonica to the other Telco partners, the holding company which owns 22% of Telecom and is in turn owned by the same Spanish company (46%), as well as by the Italian companies Generali (30,58%), Mediobanca (11,62%) and Intesa (11,62 %). The first proposal was judged unsatisfactory, but contacts continue.
“Among other things – he writes Equita Sim on the subject of the rumors – Telefonica would not proceed immediately with a merger but would be content in the first instance with blocking control of Telecom Italia, increasing the Telco shareholding. This solution would offer the stock a positive but contained upside”.
Il September 19th the executive chairman of Telecom, Franco Bernabè, will present to the Board of Directors the industrial plan for the relaunch of the group, which will probably include a third party. By September 28th the shareholders united in Telco will be able to communicate six months in advance the cancellation of the agreement on which the capital of the holding company is structured. Mediobanca has already announced its intention to exit Telco, while Generali and Intesa Sanpaolo await Bernabè's plan before making an official decision.
Mediobanca Securities he does not rule out "an integration between the Italian and Spanish groups, which would probably make sense from an industrial point of view and would start the process of integration in the fragmented European market", but underlines "that this process will take time".
Analysts Icbpi they add that, “in addition to the repurchase of the Telco shares, some hypotheses in the press accredit the merger between the two groups as part of an operation that could also involve Cdp for the fixed network. In any case, antitrust hurdles in Brazil would remain, which could result in the divestment or stew of Brazil's second-largest wireless operator."
