JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM raised its stake to 10.1% in Telecom Italia S.p.A. TI, an Italian telecommunications company that operates mainly in Europe, the Mediterranean basin and South America, according to a filing by the Italian market regulator Consob.
The overall long position of JPMorgan is held through a previously disclosed stake of 4.5% as well as call options that can be exercised at different dates up to Jul 7, 2017 and other contracts. The position was held as of Nov 26, 2015, when stringent disclosure rules regarding stakes held in listed Italian companies came into play.
The highest stake in Telecom Italia is currently held by the French media behemoth Vivendi S.A., which is equivalent to over 20% as it plans to build a distribution business in southern Europe. Vivendi is also seeking to appoint four representatives to the Telecom Italia board. The proposal will be voted in a shareholder meeting on Dec 15.
Telecom Italia's second biggest shareholder is the French billionaire Xavier Niel, who is the founder of broadband provider Iliad SA. He accumulated a 15.1% stake in the Italian group by buying options at the end of October through his personal investment company.
Prior to the French shareholders, Italy's biggest phone group had been controlled by the Spanish telecom behemoth Telefónica, S.A. TEF and a group of Italian financial investors. The change in stakeholders came on the heels of the heavily indebted Telecom Italia making efforts to stimulate the company’s local business and sell assets to lessen a debt load of almost 27 billion euros.
French global telecommunications service provider, Orange ORAN and Vivendi both declined any interest in a merger with Telecom Italia. Last week, Orange's chief executive Stephane Richard denied any interest in Telecom Italia as well as in other European operators.
Currently, JPMorgan carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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