The has attracted the interest of other potential investors in Telecom, such as Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris. However, new attempts to buy in to the Italian operator have failed so far, either because of lack of interest on the part of the parties or fears of opposition by the Italian government, the paper said. Its sources said Telefonica is unlikely to pursue a full-blown merger with Telecom Italia, in part due to both operators' significant debt burden.
Telefonica does have the first right of refusal on the other Telco shareholders' stakes. Talks with the shareholders about how to change Telecom Italia's ownership are still at an early stage, the report said. An option could be for the Spanish operator to progressively buy the other stakes over a number of years, two people close to the matter said.
Telecom Italia's board will meet next on 19 September, and could discuss the Telco restructuring then. It may also consider a capital increase of as much as EUR 5 billion, but no decision has been made yet, people familiar with the matter have said.
