MILAN (MF-Dow Jones)--Italian unlisted holding company Telco's
shareholders Thursday decided to appeal the ruling of a Brazilian
regulator on Tim Brazil, a person with knowledge of the situation
said Thursday.
Holding company Telco - which includes Italian banks Intesa
Sanpaolo (ISP.MI), Mediobanca SpA (MB.MI), insurer Assicurazioni
Generali (G.MI) and the Benetton family as well as Spanish phone
giant Telefonica SA (TEF) - holds 24.5% of Italy's largest
telecommunications operator, Telecom Italia (TIT.MI).
Last week Brazilian market authorities asked Telco to launch a
bid for the minorities of its Brazilian unit TIM Participacoes SA
(TSU). Telecom Italia holds 81.3% of ordinary shares in TIM
Participacoes, Brazil's third-biggest mobile-phone operator and one
of the Italian phone group's core markets. A buyout of the
minorities in TIM Brazil could cost Telco's shareholders up to
EUR500 million, according to analysts' estimates based on the
ordinary shares value.
The same person said an independent Telco advisor made a
fairness opinion on the value of Telecom Italia shares placing its
value at EUR2.20. According to press reports Telco shareholders may
decide to write down the value of their investments in Telecom
Italia.
-By Alessandro Mocenni with MF-Dow Jones and Sabrina Cohen, Dow
Jones Newswires; +39 02 5821 9906; sabrina.cohen@dowjones.com
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