TI: Telecom Italia S.P.A. Instablogs

Quote & Headlines Market Currents StockTalk

All
| Earnings
| Dividends
| M&A
| On the move

Monday, April 22, 3:50 PM Telecom Italia (TI +2.9%) is thinking of selling a 30% stake in its wireline ops to state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti for €2B ($2.62B) as part of a spinoff, Bloomberg reports. TI, whose board recently ordered management to explore the feasibility of a wireline spinoff (while also signing off on talks with mobile merger talks with Hutchison Whampoa), is also reportedly thinking of transferring €10B ($13.1B) in debt to the wireline spinoff, and taking it public down the line. Comment! [Tech, M&A, On the Move]
Friday, April 12, 3:49 AM Hutchison Whampoa would want to control any company created by merging its 3 Italia mobile unit with Telecom Italia's (TI) cellular operations. Hutchison would become TI's largest shareholder as part of the deal, possible causing the unravelling of the Telco consortium that holds 22.4% in the former monopoly. Telco includes Telefonica (TEF), Intesa Sanpaolo (IITOF.PK) and Mediobanca (MDIBF.PK). TI is also looking at spinning off its wireline operations. Shares +4.3% in Milan. Comment! [Tech, Consumer, M&A, On the Move]
Thursday, April 11, 6:40 PM Following today's meeting, Telecom Italia's (TI) board has signed off on talks with Hutchison Whampoa about merging the companies' Italian mobile ops, formed a committee to quickly review any deal, and ordered management to study the feasibility of spinning off TI's Italian wireline ops. Regulators will undoubtedly take a close look at the fact TI and Hutchinson have a combined 45% of the Italian mobile market, easily eclipsing the 32% and 23% respectively held by Vodafone and Wind. Comment! [Tech, M&A]
Thursday, April 11, 1:37 PM Telecom Italia (TI +5.9%) jumps as hopes of an Italian mobile merger with Hutchinson Whampoa grow. A Telecom Italia board meeting to discuss a possible merger took place today, and Hutchinson has stated it's willing to support a deal if it can obtain the largest stake in TI. That would mean a bigger stake than the 22.4% jointly held by Telefonica (TEF +0.4%) and three Italian banks. Hutchinson has reportedly been eying a ~30% stake, and Telefonica is reportedly willing to unload its position in TI. Regulatory and/or political opposition could still scuttle a deal. Comment! [Tech, On the Move, M&A]
Tuesday, April 9, 11:26 AM Telefonica (TEF +1%) is willing to sell its 10.5% indirect stake in Telecom Italia (TI +4.3%), two sources tell Bloomberg. Telefonica has been insisting it has no plans to sell the stake, which is worth $1.6B and is the result of a 22.4% stake held by Telefonica and 3 Italian banks. But the European/Latin American carrier has been eying a variety of asset sales as it tries to further pare its debt load. Reported merger talks regarding TI and Hutchinson Whampoa's Italian mobile units could be influencing Telefonica's thinking. Comment! [Tech, M&A]
Tuesday, April 9, 5:24 AM Telecom Italia (TI) shares +3.6% to €0.595 in Milan following a report that Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa (HUWHF.PK) could acquire a 29.9% holding in TI for €1.2 a share. In return, TI would be able to buy Hutchison mobile unit 3 Italia. The deal would make Hutchison the largest shareholder in TI, as its stake would exceed the 22.4% held by the Telco consortium, which includes Telefonica (TEF). 1 Comment [Tech, Consumer, M&A]
Friday, April 5, 12:08 PM Telecom Italia (TI +1.1%) says it has held talks with Hutchison Whampoa about merging the carriers' Italian mobile ops, but adds "the contacts are in such embryonic and preliminary state that the company cannot further comment on the news." The remarks follow a Bloomberg report stating TI's board will evaluate its mobile options next week, M&A deals included. Comment! [Tech]
Thursday, April 4, 11:45 AM Telecom Italia's (TI +8%) board will evaluate options for the carrier's mobile phone ops next week, including M&A deals, two sources tell Bloomberg. A tie-up with Hutchinson Whampoa's Italian unit is named as a possibility - such a deal could diminish competitive pressures. Like many other European carriers, TI's mobile unit has been pressured by macro issues and declining voice/text revenue. Comment! [Tech, On the Move, M&A]
Wednesday, March 27, 10:29 AM European tech and telecom stocks are underperforming as continental equities sell off on Italian concerns. STM -3.9%. ALU -2.3%. NXPI -1.4%. FTE -4.3%. TEF -2.1%. TI -4.3%. VOD -1.7%. One exception is Nokia (NOK +0.3%), which is benefiting from an upgrade to Buy from Swedbank. 6 Comments [Tech, On the Move]
Tuesday, March 26, 1:58 PM The EU has an ambitious broadband agenda: It wants 50% of regional households to have 100Mbps+ connections by 2020, and all households to have 30Mbps+ connections. To deliver on these goals, the EC is now proposing every new home support high-speed broadband, and (estimating up to €60B in savings) is looking to cut permit wait times for broadband and 4G tower building permits. However, the proposals come as legislators, citing the continent's economic woes, consider slashing €50B-€70B from the digital part of the Connecting Europe Facility. 2 Comments [Tech]
Thursday, March 14, 2:22 PM European carriers rally as continental equities move higher and an EU summit in which budget rules are taking center stage gets underway. FTE +6.1%. TEF +3.8%. TI +5.2%. VOD +2%. BT +5.4%. Comment! [Tech, On the Move]
Thursday, March 7, 6:31 AM EU antitrust regulators are closing a preliminary inquiry into Europe's five largest cellular operators over the development of new technology standards, saying that it's satisfied that the carriers had provided their work to industry associations. The EU had been concerned that Vodafone (VOD), France Telecom (FTE), Telecom Italia (TI), Deutsche Telekom (DTEGF.PK) and Telefonica (TEF) would shut out their rivals. Comment! [Tech, Consumer]
Tuesday, February 26, 7:36 AM The pain in Italy today - FTSE MIB - off 4.6% - is mainly being felt by the "politicized, debt-laden companies," notes one Milan trader (Intesa Sanpaolo -9.9%, Telecom Italia -6%). Multinationals like Eni (E) and Saipem (SAPMY.PK) are all down 2% or less. Eni +1.7%, TI -3.5% premarket. Comment! [Global & FX]
Friday, February 8, 4:01 AM Telecom Italia (TI): 2012 EBITDA -7.6% to €11.66B vs consensus of €11.77B and below TI's target to keep the figure almost unchanged from 2011 at €12.25B. Revenue -1.5% to €29.5B vs forecasts of €29.58B. Italian sales -5.8% to €17.88B. Due to present 2013-2015 strategy plan today at 6 am CET. (PR) Comment! [Earnings, Tech, Consumer]
Monday, February 4, 11:47 AM Debt-laden European telcos are having a rough day following major declines in continental indices thanks to fresh Spanish and Italian woes. FTE -5.2%. TEF -4.7%. TI -5.7%. PT -5.8%. Vodafone (VOD -1.6%) is posting a relatively small decline in spite of being hit with a downgrade to Neutral from Citi. 2 Comments [Tech, On the Move]
Monday, January 14, 1:30 PM EU regulators push ahead with efforts to harmonize telecom regulations across member states. Brussels is hoping to improve the financial health of European carriers and make it easier for ones serving different markets to merge, thereby reducing the pressure for ones in the same market(s) to consolidate. Already, debt-laden giants such as TEF, TI, and FTE have reportedly talked about pooling network resources, as they contend with slumping voice/text revenue brought about by macro issues and the impact of data services. Comment! [Tech]

TI Telecom Italia S.P.A.

TI

Telecom Italia S.P.A.