TI shareholders unite

Two groups with investments in Telecom Italia have agreed to form a partnership with the company’s main shareholder, Olimpia. Investment bank Mediobanca and insurance firm Generali hold around 5% of Telecom Italia’s stock. Pooling their holdings with those of Olimpia will create a shareholder group with a controlling interest of over 23%. The Financial Times reports that the move is designed to bring some stability to Telecom Italia following recent problems surrounding its future strategy which led to the resignation of former chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera and involved the Italian prime minister Romani Prodi.