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Italy/Hong Kong: Telecom, Hutchinson deal put on hold

By  |  May 8, 2013

About a month after Hong Kong wireless company Hutchinson Whampoa expressed interest in becoming the largest shareholder of Telecom Italia, the company, Italy’s largest phone conglomerate, has announced that merger talks are now on hold. According to reports, shareholders of Telecom Italia are town as to whether to approve of the buyout; the delay of formal discussion over the matter will allow the company more time to convince shareholders to accept the deal. If allowed, the Italian company will likely be required to divest its fixed-line network. But the merger may prove crucial as the company struggles with more than $37 billion in debt. A new shareholder meeting on the matter will occur within the next month, but sources say Telecom Italia’s current largest investor, Spain’s Telefonica, is against such a deal.

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