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Apr. 6, 2007

AT&T has been talking about its plans with some of its Italian partners and whether its proposed deal should go through in acquiring a controlling interest in Telecom Italia.

However, AT&T's impending acquisition continues to stir a lot of debate and national protectionism in Italy.

Rick Moore, managing director for corporate development at AT&T, told some Italian newspapers "there's no reason to think that Telecom Italia would lose its identity in any way, either in Italy or anywhere else."

Moore added "AT&T wants to establish a strong collaboration with Telecom Italia for a long-term industrial strategy."

Meanwhile, some Italian banks, including Mediobanca and Intesa Sanpaolo, have been working on other possible methods of acquiring Pirelli, the company AT&T has been in negotiations with.

Pirelli is the holding company with a controlling share of Olimpia, which in turn owns an 18 percent stake in Telecom Italia.

Even more speculation brewed over AT&T's potential buyout when Olimpia omitted the company's chairman, Guido Rossi, from a list of proposed new board members.

Overall, his omission from the list of candidates for the company's board is likely the first of Pirelli's many moves as the battle for Telecom Italia intensifies, according to the International Herald Tribune.

Meanwhile, Italian newspapers also have reported that France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica of Spain are all working with Italian investors in considering counter bids for Telecom Italia.

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Source: Wireless Week