MADRID -(Dow Jones)- Spanish firm Telefonica's talks with Telecom Italia and its controlling shareholder, Pirelli, are on hold, a Telefonica spokesman reiterated Wednesday.
In its Wednesday edition, the Financial Times reported that Telefonica had abandoned "for the foreseeable future" plans to take a minority stake in Telecom Italia and form a strategic alliance with the Italian operator because the potential financial benefits weren't good enough.
The Telefonica spokesman, however, said the situation hadn't changed since last week, when Chairman Cesar Alierta said the talks had been put on hold.
Company Web site: http://www.telefonica.es
-By Jason Sinclair, Dow Jones Newswires; +34 91 395 8127; jason.sinclair@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires"
Posted to the site on 7th March 2007
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/22438.php