Telecom Italia Sweeps Board in Power Struggle With Elliott

   By Sarah Sloat 
 

Telecom Italia SpA (TIT.MI) said Thursday that its chairman and other board members will resign as a power struggle between the company and activist investor Elliott Management escalates.

The company will hold a shareholders meeting May 4 to appoint a new board after Chairman Arnaud de Puyfontaine said he will resign on April 24 along with other board members. At Telecom Italia, if a majority of members resign, the entire board must be reappointed.

Among those stepping down are the board members representing Telecom Italia's main shareholder, France's Vivendi SA (VIV.FR). The French company said the May meeting will allow shareholders "to appoint the board members they want and which policy to follow."

The move comes after Elliott Advisors, the U.K. arm of Elliott Management, bought a stake in Telecom Italia and said it will seek to replace some board members. In a letter to Telecom Italia shareholders, Elliott made its case and also suggested selling off part of the company's Sparkle and NetCo units.

"Poor stewardship under the Vivendi-controlled board has resulted in deeply troubling corporate governance issues, a valuation discount and strategic failures," the fund said last week.

Vivendi called Elliott's initiatives "an attempt...to dismantle Telecom Italia" and said it supports the industrial plan put forward by Telecom Chief Executive Amos Genish.

Write to Sarah Sloat at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 22, 2018 14:12 ET (18:12 GMT)

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