Poste raises its stake in Telecom Italy to become the largest holder

(Bloomberg) – Italy’s state-run postal service increased its stake in Telecom’s Italian spa to nearly 25%, surpassing Vivendi SE, becoming the largest investor in the telephone operator and ending a decade-long tenure in the Italian company by French media conglomerate.

Poste Italiane owns approximately 10% of Italia Telecom, buying a 15% stake from Vivendi for €684 million (US$684 million) or €0.2975 per share, according to a statement on Saturday. The deal keeps Poste below the threshold, which will trigger a mandatory takeover offer under Italian regulations. The statement added that the transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of this year.

“The deal represents a strategic investment by the Italian Post, which aims to play the role of long-term industrial shareholders, thus creating a synergy between the Italian Post and Italian Telecom,” Poste said.

This move allows Poste to expand to financial and logistics services, which is a role

As a bastion of further control against the Italian telephone industry. Last year, its telecom Italia became a possible target recently as it went to KKR&Co last year. Debt cuts after selling €22 billion.

The announcement confirmed the Bloomberg News report.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni supported a share swap last month, allowing Poste to take over 9.8% of Telecom’s holdings from state lender Cassa Pastei e Prestiti Spa. In turn, CDP acquired a 3.8% stake in Poste in payment expert Nexi Spa.

Since taking office in 2022, Meloni’s right-wing government has been closely following companies it considers “national champions.” Whether it is by summarizing local investors or resorting to “golden power” regulations, this will translate into efforts to prevent foreign purchases of Italian assets, which allows the state to block acquisitions of strategic assets in some cases.

Given that the postal operator already operates the country’s largest mobile virtual network operator, the government sees Poste as a natural fit for Telecom.

In addition to its traditional business of operating mail services in Italy and providing savings accounts, Poste diversifies energy, insurance and telecommunications. It has about 120,000 employees and about 13,000 locations nationwide. Last year, Poste reported sales of 12.6 billion euros and net profit of more than 2 billion euros.

Vivendi has been the largest shareholder of Italia Telecom for a decade, but the company’s stake has been shrinking. Vivendi agreed to acquire the initial stake in Italia Telecom in part of the 2014 deal to sell its Brazilian broadband commercial GVT to Telefonica SA in Spain, followed by its investors in Italia Telecom.

(Updated to include context about Giorgia Meloni always managed.)

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