ROME (Reuters) – France’s Vivendi is open to the possibility of installing its CEO Arnaud de Puyfontaine as chairman of Telecom Italia (TIM) in order to discuss with Italy’s government ways to relaunch the phone group, sources said.
Reuters reported this week the French media giant, in demanding a change of course at Italy’s largest telecoms company after two profit warnings in three months, wanted to act in agreement with the Italian government.
Rome is TIM’s second-biggest investor through its state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP).
The chairmanship role is an option under discussion in the boardroom war which sees Vivendi challenging the role of TIM’s Chief Executive Luigi Gubitosi, the two sources, close to the matter, told Reuters.
Vivendi and TIM both declined to comment.
(Reporting by Elvira Pollina in Milan and Giuseppe Fonte in Rome, additional reporting by Agnieszka Flak, editing by Giulia Segreti)
