Poste to become Telecom Italia's No.1 investor by buying 15% from Vivendi

By Elvira Pollina and Giuseppe Fonte

MILAN (Reuters) -Poste Italiane has agreed to bargain the bulk of Vivendi's involvement successful Telecom Italia to regenerate the French radical arsenic the main capitalist successful the telephone radical with a 24.8% holding, Poste said connected Saturday.

Confirming what sources had earlier told Reuters, Poste said it was buying a 15% involvement successful TIM from Vivendi, which had precocious reduced its holding to 18.4%.

Poste said it would usage disposable currency to money the 684 cardinal euro ($741 million) investment, buying shares successful TIM astatine 0.2975 euros each.

That compares with a closing terms for TIM connected Friday of 0.3126, equivalent to a 4.8% discount.

Poste said it would stay beneath the 25% threshold supra which, nether Italian law, it would person to marque an connection for the remainder of TIM.

It added it would enactment arsenic a semipermanent shareholder successful TIM pursuing the "strategic investment", looking for imaginable benefits from practice betwixt the 2 companies and supporting assemblage consolidation.

State-controlled Poste, whose businesses see energy, payments and telephone services arsenic good arsenic message and parcels, archetypal became an capitalist successful TIM successful February with a 9.8% stake, replacing authorities lender CDP.

TIM is Italy's erstwhile telephone monopoly and a concern of strategical nationalist importance.

After spinning disconnected its fixed-line grid past year, TIM could present go progressive successful the consolidation expected to hap successful a assemblage wherever nett margins are seen arsenic excessively bladed to concern the required investments.

For Rome to sphere a meaningful beingness successful TIM if it ties up with different telecoms firm, Poste archetypal needed to boost its stake.

Reuters was archetypal to study that Poste was acceptable to summation its holding. Sources said earlier this week that Poste was successful talks with Vivendi.

A elder Treasury authoritative besides said this week that Poste had "the close credentials" to beryllium a starring capitalist successful TIM due to the fact that it could beryllium some a fiscal and an concern partner.

($1 = 0.9236 euros)

(Additional reporting and penning by Valentina Za.Editing by Mark Potter)