Pietro Labriola has been re-elected as CEO of Telecom Italia for a second term after winning approval from investors. This shows support for his strategy of selling the operator’s fixed network assets. Following a shareholder vote at the company’s annual meeting, Labriola’s slate of candidates secured six out of nine seats on the board of directors.
Investment companies Merlyn Partners and BlueBell Capital Partners, who had put forward their own candidates to challenge Labriola, managed to secure two and one seat respectively. Despite owning a small stake in Telecom Italia (0.5 per cent each), Merlyn Partners’ parent company Merlyn Advisor has publicly criticized the operator’s current strategy and its plan to sell its fixed-line business to NetCo to KKR.
Despite opposition from some shareholders, the vote in favor of Labriola indicates strong support for the €18.8 billion sale, which aims to reduce the operator’s debt. Vivendi, Telecom Italia’s largest shareholder with a 24% stake, has also opposed the fixed network sale but chose to abstain from voting on the matter.