French media and communications group Vivendi has increased its stake in Telecom Italia to 24.9%, taking it close to the 25% threshold which would trigger a mandatory takeover bid. Vivendi has upped its interest from 23.8% since end-February, but a report from Reuters suggests that the group will go no higher as it is not prepared to launch a full takeover of the Italian fixed and mobile operator.
There have been rumours that Vivendi could be interested in pushing through a merger between Telecom Italia and French counterpart Orange, though the Italian firm’s chairman Giuseppe Recchi has said that the idea of a tie-up is a ‘fantasy’ created by the press and Orange CEO Stephane Richard. He added that a partnership with Italian pay-TV group Mediaset is also ‘not on the table’ following speculation that Vivendi is looking to acquire the TV operator.