TI shareholders renew pact; Benetton exits

According to a report by Reuters, all of the members of Italy’s Telco consortium, the largest stakeholder in the country’s leading operator by subscribers Telecom Italia (TI), have agreed to renew the pact which unites them as a single group, with the sole exception of Benetton, which has decided to exit the consortium. As reported by CommsUpdate on 25 September, local news sources had speculated that Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica was considering leaving the consortium, which holds a collective 24.5% share in TI. However, Telefonica eventually resigned the pact, which ties the group of investors together until at least April 2011. The Benetton family, the smallest investor in the Telco pact with an 8.4% stake, left the consortium after long signalling a desire to quit what it considers a poor investment, but with an equivalent share in TI of around 2.01% it is unlikely that the exit will affect the consortium’s level of control over the Italian incumbent’s future strategy.