Telecom Italia's minority investors association Asati has written to the company’s board of directors and Italian markets regulator Consob to request the resignation of the entire board at a forthcoming meeting on 17 March. “In the name of the best interests of Telecom Italia… all directors should take the only possible decision: resign,” said Asati, adding that the arrival of top shareholder Vivendi “is the only good news on the horizon… of Telecom Italia.” According to the shareholders’ association, the current board is a representation of an old regime – that of Telefonica – and fails to reflect the de-facto control of French media conglomerate Vivendi, which earlier this week increased its stake in Telecom Italia to 24.9 percent.
Asati’s comments follow reports that Vivendi has been losing patience with the direction of Telecom Italia. The French company currently has four of its own representatives on Telecom Italia’s board after a slim majority of shareholders voted in favour of its request to increase the number of board members from 13 to 17 at the end of last year.
