Following is a letter sent to the Editor of the Financial Times:
Has the quid pro quo of the Spanish government support for the Italian electricity company, Enel´s purchase of Spanish electricity company, Endesa , just taken place ("Telefónica to buy T Italia holding" Financial Times, April 29, 2007 )? Is this why we have not heard a peep from the Italian government on the takeover of one of their national corporate treasures, Telecom Italia?
Up to now, Italian government ministers have pronounced at the top of their voices their desire for a local solution, with the objective of dissuading non Italian pretenders, successfully in a couple of cases.
Now all appears to be fine, coincidentally, shortly after they did a deal with the Spanish government on an Italian company takeover of a Spanish national corporate treasure.
Despite pronouncements about their love of Europe and of their European credentials, governments are following the same line: "what is mine is mine and what is yours is European".
Onésimo Alvarez-Moro
See article:
Spain’s Telefónica finally sealed a deal to take part of a controlling stake in Telecom Italia at the weekend, ending months of uncertainty and thwarting the ambitions of Mexico’s América Móvil.
Telefónica is paying €2.3bn as part of a €4.1bn operation to buy out Pirelli, the Italian tyre company. Pirelli has controlled TI by owning with the Benetton family a large block of TI shares and nominating the majority of the board.
However Telefónica is joined in the acquiring consortium by a group of Italian investors which is taking a majority of the Pirelli stake and will be able to outvote the Spanish company. Telefónica will be able to nominate two TI board directors while the Italian investors will nominate 13 people.
Telefónica , the Benettons, insurer Generali and Italian banks Intesa Sanpaolo and Mediobanca are together to hold 23.6 per cent of TI and are paying €2.82 a share, 25 per cent over TI’s market price. A further capital increase could see more Italian financial investors enter the consortium.
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