n n n ‘. concat(e. i18n. t(“search. voice. recognition_retry”),’n
(Bloomberg) — A London-based investment company run by the former JPMorgan Chase banker
Most on Bloomberg
Israel enters ‘new stage’ of war with fighting in Gaza
Canada Plans to Crack Down on Universities Amid International Student Issues
Everything Apple plans to release on Mac “Scary Fast” on October 30
Israel Says ‘Long’ as Invasion of Gaza Strip Begins
Merlyn Advisors Ltd, a minority investor in Telecom Italia, wrote to the company’s board of directors on Friday asking it to maintain the network while promoting its customer department and its Brazilian unit Tim SA, according to a document obtained through Bloomberg.
The plan proposes a conceivable merger between Telecom Italia and Open Fiber SpA without the smaller rival’s metropolitan areas, which would eliminate antitrust risks, according to the document.
Merlyn’s plan calls for Italian state-owned lender Cassa Depositi Prestiti to play a strategic role in the proposed new venture. CDP owns about 10% of Telecom Italia and controls Open Fiber.
Merlyn called Telecom Italia CEO Pietro Labriola’s performance “really disappointing” and proposed former Telecom Italia vice president Stefano Siragusa as his replacement. Siragusa’s chosen asset control firm, RN Capital Partners, joined Merlyn in the proposal.
Representatives for Telecom Italia, Merlyn and RN Capital declined to comment.
“We need a state-run national grid like Terna, because it will create wonders for everyone,” Barnaba said Saturday in an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica, referring to Italy’s state-controlled power grid operator.
“We don’t need foreign funds,” Barnaba added, adding that Merlyn has not yet held talks with CDP or French media company Vivendi SE, Telecom Italia’s biggest investor.
Read more: KKR makes binding offer for Telecom Italia’s phone network
The sale of the network is an original concept of Labriola and would be an important step for Telecom Italia, which aims to recover its gross debt of around 30 billion euros.
Network dilemma
U. S. stock giant KKR
Merlyn’s move may simply be a ploy for French media conglomerate Vivendi SE, which has opposed the deal for months, saying it would not settle for any one network offering less than 30 billion euros. A spokeswoman for Vivendi declined to comment on Merlin’s letter.
Merlyn owns less than 3% of Telecom Italia, but the company’s letter says it would increase its stake slightly above the 5% threshold for calling a shareholder meeting if the board fails to remove Labriola.
–With Alberto Brambilla’s.
(Updated with Barnaba’s comments in the paragraph. )
Most read Bloomberg Businessweek
Sam Bankman-Fried Takes a Stand to Remind Us of Crypto’s Epic Crash
X, One Year Later: How Elon Musk Ruined Twitter’s Business
A Complicated Billionaire Searches for the Moon at the Businessweek Show
The War That Broke Social Media
The Children’s Book Trade in the New Era of Book Prohibition
©2023 Bloomberg L. P.