Italian government shuffles share holdings as TIM edges closer to bagging Postepay’s infrastructure to consolidate Italy’s domestic communications network
The Board of Directors of Poste Italiane, which is a controlled by Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), has approved the acquisition of a 9.81% share in Telecom Italia (TIM). It is acquiring the stake from Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), the state-backed bank, which owns 35% of the share capital of Poste Italiane. CDP is also controlled by the MEF.
Poste Italiane’s board of directors also decided to sell its entire shareholding in Nexi, which equates to about 3.78% of Nexi’s share capital, to CDP.
The proceeds from the shares in TIM will be in part be paid from the transfer from the sale of shares in Nexi to CDP and the rest in cash.
Rationale
The acquisition [translated from Italian] “enables the evolution of commercial relations between TIM and Poste Italiane” noting that “the negotiation for the provision of access services for Postepay – a wholly owned subsidiary of Poste Italiane – to TIM’s mobile network infrastructure is at an advanced stage”.
“The transaction represents, as a whole, for Poste Italiane an investment of a strategic nature, with the aim of creating synergies between companies and favouring, with all the actors concerned, the consolidation of the telecommunications market in Italy.”
TIM has separated its network and services into two separate entities, completing the sale of a controlling share in the NetCo to KKR, an American fund that invests in assets, last July.
Poste Italiane is Italy’s largest distribution network. It activities include delivery of letters and parcels, financial and insurance services, payment systems and telephony intended for families, companies and public administrations.