Telefónica chairman Cesar Ailerata was reported to comment to journalists after a telecoms conference in Spain that: “After the GVT operation, the message is clear – we don’t want to stay in Telecom Italia.”
Relations between the two companies appear to have been strained by a bidding war for Vivendi’s Brazilian broadband unit GVT, with Telefónica eventually securing the company with a bid of €7.45 billion last week. Telefónica already took steps in June to decrease its stake in Telecom Italia.
The move could also help Telefónica with regulatory approval in Brazil, where the Brazilian anti-trust watchdog, Cade, warned that it should divest its interest in Telecom Italia or find a new partner for its mobile unit, Vivo.
