Telecom Italia Calls Report of Network Spinoff Plan Speculation

ROME -(Dow Jones)- Italy's largest telecommunication operator, Telecom Italia, said Tuesday that a report indicating the company is considering the spinoff of its access network into a new company is speculation.

Following a request from securities regulator Consob, Telecom Italia confirmed in a statement its revised business plan will be unveiled by year end.

"The new plan will be communicated by the end of the year and, in any case, only at the conclusion of the decision-making process which reserves for the board of directors the approval of strategic, industrial and financial plans, as is the case with all operations of particular significance," the company said.

According to the report in Italian daily La Repubblica, Telecom Italia Chief Executive Franco Bernabe may propose to shareholders the spinoff plan of the network at the board meeting on Sept. 25.

The paper also reported that Bernabe is considering to let institutional investors, such as sovereign funds from the Middle East, become shareholders in the Italian operator, after the relationship with Telecom Italia's main foreign shareholder Telefonica has deteriorated.

-Giada Zampano, Dow Jones Newswires; +39 06 69766925; giada.zampano@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

Posted to the site on 16th September 2008