MILAN, Nov 25 (Reuters) – Italy’s Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) willbe a long-term investor in infrastructure assets, its chief executive said on Thursday, declining to comment when asked about the state lender’s plans for Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI).
CDP has a 10% stake in former phone monopoly Telecom Italia (TIM) it bought to offset the influence of French media group Vivendi , which owns nearly 24% in the telecom group.
“I will not comment on this while financial markets are open,” CDP new CEO Dario Scannapieco said when asked whether the state lender wanted to keep or increase its stake in the phone company.
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Telecom Italia has received a 10.8 billion euro ($12 billion) offer from KKR aimed at taking Italy’s biggest phone group private, the company said on Sunday.
The government and the state lender are under the spotlight, with investors and analysts curious about Rome’s stance over KKR’s takeover attempt of a company deemed strategic by the government.
CDP holds some 36 billion euro of equity investments in companies that include Telecom Italia, fiber network operator Open Fiber, shipbuilder Fincantieri (FCT.MI) and construction group Webuild (WBD……..