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Michelangelo's 'secret room' in Florence to open for visitors
  + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
Artist Michelangelo's sculpture known as Vatican Pieta is displayed at Opera del Duomo Museum next to its other versions in Florence, Italy, February 23, 2022. Michelangelo's "secret room" is located inside the Museum of the Medici Chapels and contains charcoal sketches of human figures which have been attributed to the artist, who is said to have taken refuge there in 1530. Dal Poggetto believed the artist had taken refuge in the room after falling foul of Pope Clement VII. Small guided groups of four people will be able to visit the room from Nov. 15 for a maximum of 15 minutes. The room is accessed via a cramped and narrow stairway and the number of weekly visitors will be capped at 100 people.
Persons: Jennifer Lorenzini, Michelangelo, Paolo Dal Poggetto, Dal Poggetto, Pope Clement VII . Small, Silvia Ognibene, Keith Weir, Alvise Armellini, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: del Duomo Museum, REUTERS, Rights, Museum, Thomson Locations: Florence, Italy, Rights FLORENCE, Medici
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's government plans to hike taxes on short-term rentals by people letting out more than one flat, a draft of the 2024 budget seen by Reuters showed on Saturday. The move comes in the wake of criticism of Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms for contributing to a shortage of affordable housing for residents in the most popular tourist destinations. Italian legislation allows owners to rent out their apartments and pay a tax rate of 21% on earnings. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni intends to raise that band to 26% "in the case of the short-term rental of more than one apartment in each tax period," the draft showed. However, the government has scaled back its initial plans as previous drafts reported by Reuters envisaged increased taxation also applying to short-term rentals of single apartments.
Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Giuseppe Fonte, Keith Weir Organizations: Reuters Locations: ROME
ROME, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Italy's government plans to hike taxes on short-term rentals by people letting out more than one flat, a draft of the 2024 budget seen by Reuters showed on Saturday. The move comes in the wake of criticism of Airbnb (ABNB.O) and other short-term rental platforms for contributing to a shortage of affordable housing for residents in the most popular tourist destinations. Italian legislation allows owners to rent out their apartments and pay a tax rate of 21% on earnings. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni intends to raise that band to 26% "in the case of the short-term rental of more than one apartment in each tax period," the draft showed. However, the government has scaled back its initial plans as previous drafts reported by Reuters envisaged increased taxation also applying to short-term rentals of single apartments.
Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Giuseppe Fonte, Keith Weir Organizations: Reuters, Thomson
Mediobanca CEO Alberto Nagel poses for a photograph in the occasion of a news conference to present Mediobanca's new business plan in Milan, Italy, November 12, 2019. Under Nagel, Mediobanca has moved away from its historic role as a financial holding company and boosted its wealth management and consumer credit operations, also through acquisitions. But his strategy had come in for criticism, initially from the late Leonardo Del Vecchio, whose holding company Delfin has a 19.7% stake in Mediobanca. The Delfin list took 32% of the total capital in the vote. A small group of institutional investors who had filed a third list took the remaining seat.
Persons: Alberto Nagel, Flavio Lo Scalzo, Delfin, Nagel, Pagliaro, Mediobanca, Leonardo Del Vecchio, Renato Pagliaro, Del Vecchio's, Francesco Milleri, Delfin's, Gianluca Semeraro, Keith Weir Organizations: REUTERS, Companies, MILAN, Thomson Locations: Milan, Italy, Mediobanca, Generali
[1/3] Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto's 'Venus of the Rags' is displayed in Piazza Municipio before being destroyed in a fire, in Naples, Italy June 27, 2023. It will absorb what was left from the fire of the original artwork, art critic Vincenzo Trione explained, "to show that it is possible to rise from the ashes, not only metaphorically". The original "Venus of the Rags" was created in 1967 and various versions are on display in museums across Europe, including the Tate Gallery in Liverpool, northern England. I would have never thought in 1967 that I would find myself once again immersed in this piece of art," Pistoletto said, adding that "we must now heal (Venus)". The installation is meant to convey the juxtaposition between eternal beauty, represented by Venus, and modern society's social degradation and consumerism.
Persons: Michelangelo Pistoletto's, Ciro De Luca, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Vincenzo Trione, Gaetano Manfredi, Pistoletto, Giulia Segreti, Keith Weir, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Naples, Tate, Venus, Thomson Locations: Italian, Piazza Municipio, Naples, Italy, Piazza del, Europe, Liverpool, England
Newcastle's Tonali banned for 10 months for betting offences
  + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
ROME, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali has been banned from soccer for 10 months over breaches of rules on betting on matches in Italy, the head of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said on Thursday. It will rule Tonali out for the remainder of the club season and next summer's Euro 2024 tournament should Italy qualify. Tonali, 23, is the highest profile player caught up in a betting scandal that is shaking Italian soccer. Legal and sporting authorities have been investigating the use of illegal betting platforms by soccer players in Italy. Aston Villa's Italy midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo is also assisting authorities in their investigation into alleged illegal betting activity, the Premier League club said last week.
Persons: Sandro Tonali, Tonali, Gabriele Gravina, Nicolo Fagioli, FIGC's Gravina, Nicolo Zaniolo, Elvira Pollina, Keith Weir, Alvise Armellini Organizations: Newcastle United, Italian Football Federation, Newcastle, Milan, AC Milan, Champions League, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Aston, Premier League, Thomson Locations: Italy, Italian, Newcastle, Turin
ECB clears 2.5 billion UniCredit share buyback tranche
  + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +1 min
Unicredit Bank logo is seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Oct 26 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank (ECB) has given the green light for UniCredit (CRDI.MI) to buy back an initial tranche of shares up to a value of 2.5 billion euros ($2.6 billion), the Italian bank said in a statement on Thursday. UniCredit intends to distribute a minimum of 6.5 billion euros to its shareholders this year via dividends and buybacks. UniCredit this week beat third-quarter profit forecasts and kept its full-year income goal unchanged. ($1 = 0.9495 euros)Writing by Keith Weir, editing by Alvise ArmelliniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Dado Ruvic, UniCredit, Keith Weir, Alvise Organizations: REUTERS, European Central Bank, Thomson
Asia helps Moncler sales to meet forecasts in third quarter
  + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +1 min
[1/3] Moncler logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, May 3, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Sales at Italian luxury group Moncler (MONC.MI) rose 7% at constant exchange rates in the third quarter, meeting analyst expectations, thanks to growth in Asia and despite a decline in the Americas. Total sales reached 670 million euros ($705 million) in the July-September period, matching an analyst consensus provided by the company. The Moncler brand, which generates the largest part of group revenues, saw sales rise 9% at constant exchange rates, to 561 million euros, boosted by 22% growth in Asia. In the EMEA region, Moncler brand revenues grew 6% at constant exchange rates, "due to a normalisation in local consumption and a slower recovery of tourism flows compared to the first part of the year", the company said in a statement.
Persons: Dado Ruvic, Luciano Santel, Elisa Anzolin, Alvise Armellini, Keith Weir Organizations: REUTERS, Corporate, Thomson Locations: Asia, Americas
Unicredit Bank logo is seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Italy's UniCredit (CRDI.MI) on Wednesday announced improvements to its mobile banking service Buddybank, in a move that Chief Executive Andrea Orcel said would ease the eventual transition to a cloud-based core banking infrastructure. UniCredit had managed to unify the backend structure supporting traditional commercial banking operations and Buddybank, Orcel told a press conference. To shift to Buddy R-Evolution, UniCredit customers have only to download the application in order to access their current account without any changes to their bank details. A change of bank details caused disruptions this month for customers of rival Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) which is gradually shifting younger, digitally-savvy clients to its cloud-based mobile bank Isybank.
Persons: Dado Ruvic, Andrea Orcel, UniCredit, Buddy R, Orcel, Intesa Sanpaolo, Valentina Za, Keith Weir Organizations: REUTERS, Wednesday, Thomson
A flag with the logo of Stellantis is seen at the company's corporate office building in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines near Paris, France, May 5, 2021. The partnership would also give Stellantis access to the EV maker's parts and certain technologies, according to the report. Stellantis, whose brands include Fiat and Peugeot, has only a very small presence in China, the world's largest auto market. The group and rivals such as Renault (RENA.PA) are concerned about growing competition from cheap Chinese electric cars in Europe. The companies are hammering out the final details of a transaction and an announcement could be made in the coming days, Bloomberg said.
Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Stellantis, Leapmotor, Akanksha, Gilles Guillaume, Giulio Piovaccari, Zhang Yan, Keith Weir, Shilpi Majumdar, Shweta Agarwal, Mike Harrison, Jan Harvey Organizations: REUTERS, Stellantis, Bloomberg, Zhejiang, HK, Fiat, Peugeot, Renault, Hong Kong, Guangzhou Automobile Group, Thomson Locations: Saint, Yvelines, Paris, France, China, Europe, Hong Kong, Bengaluru, Milan, Shanghai
ROME, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Italy broadly supports proposals at European Union level to ensure that Big Tech firms partly finance telecoms infrastructure in the bloc, Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said in a statement on Tuesday. "All market players benefiting from the digital transformation must contribute fairly and proportionately to infrastructure costs," Urso said, intervening at an EU telecoms minister meeting in Leon, Spain. However, before introducing any legislation, the EU must carefully assess whether and to what extent network infrastructure is effectively overloaded by content and services generated by Big Tech firms, Urso added. Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Orange (ORAN.PA), Telefonica (TEF.MC) and Telecom Italia (TIM) (TLIT.MI) term it fair-share funding, while Big Tech says it amounts to an internet tax. "Italy believes the EU Commission should carry out further assessment and more time is needed to evaluate the extent of the impact of traffic generated on the network infrastructure" Urso said.
Persons: Adolfo Urso, Urso, Thierry Breton, Giuseppe Fonte, Elvira Pollina, Keith Weir Organizations: European Union, Big Tech, Industry, Google, Facebook, Netflix, Microsoft, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, Telecom Italia, France Telecom, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Italy, Leon, Spain, Orange
MILAN, Oct 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. funds CalSTRS and New York City Comptroller said on Thursday they would vote in favour of the outgoing board's slate of nominees for the new Mediobanca board at the bank's annual meeting this month. Mediobanca's outgoing board has proposed 15 members, including a new term for current CEO Alberto Nagel and Chairman Renato Pagliaro ahead of the Oct. 28 meeting. The two funds did not disclose their stakes in Mediobanca. Proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), Glass Lewis and Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (PIRC) said last week they were recommending Mediobanca investors vote in favour of the outgoing board's slate of nominees. Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro editing by Keith WeirOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Alberto Nagel, Renato Pagliaro, Delfin, Leonardo Del Vecchio, Nagel, Del Vecchio, Glass Lewis, Gianluca Semeraro, Keith Weir Organizations: MILAN, New York, Services, Pensions & Investment Research Consultants, Thomson Locations: U.S, New, Mediobanca, Italian
France, where Ryanair serves cities such as Marseille and Bordeaux, has floated proposals for a minimum ticket price in an effort to reduce pollution from aviation. The French price proposal, which EU officials said has drawn some support from the Netherlands and Belgium, got short shrift from senior Ryanair executive Eddie Wilson. Having established a strong position in large parts of Western Europe, Ryanair is now looking east to countries such as Poland for further growth. Europe's main airlines lobby group expressed relief and called on more European coordination to support the sector. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr has said a stronger ITA will reinvigorate competition in the Italian market but Ryanair's Wilson is unperturbed, describing ITA as a sideshow.
Persons: Eddie Wilson, Wilson, Andrea Giuricin, Giorgia, Giuseppe Cocuzza, Ourania Georgoutsakou, Carsten Spohr, Ryanair's Wilson, Rome Fiumicino, Sacbo, Angelo Amante, Keith Weir, Joanna Plucinska, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Ryanair, Europe's, European Union, Ryanair DAC, Alitalia, TRA Consulting, European Commission, Airlines for, ITA, Lufthansa, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Thomson Locations: Italy, ROME, France, Marseille, Bordeaux, Sicily, Sardinia, Netherlands, Belgium, Europe, Western Europe, Poland, Rome, Catania, Airlines for Europe, Bergamo, Milan, Malpensa, Brescia, London
A smartphone with a displayed Intel logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Italy remains open to a possible investment by Intel (INTC.O) in the country and would also welcome other chip makers, Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said on Wednesday. The minister said Italy had offered a state contribution to facilitate the Intel investment and the U.S. company had not asked for more. Intel last year announced it aimed to build an advanced packaging and assembly chip factory in Italy as part of a wider long-term investment plan to expand capacity across Europe. Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte Writing by Keith Weir, editing by Alvise ArmelliniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Dado Ruvic, Adolfo Urso, Giuseppe Fonte, Keith Weir, Alvise Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Intel, Industry, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Italy, U.S, Europe
The budget bill will then go to parliament, which must pass it by the end of the year. Investors have been demanding a higher premium to hold Italian government bonds since Rome last month raised its budget deficit targets for the 2023-2025 period, setting it up for a possible clash with the European Commission. AGEING POPULATIONNext year people earning up to 28,000 euros per year will pay income tax (known as IRPEF) at 23%, according to the officials. Meloni also aims to earmark at least 1 billion euros for measures, which have yet to be detailed, aimed at addressing Italy's demographic crisis. The scheme could increase tax revenues in Italy by between 2 and 3 billion euros, one official said.
Persons: Giorgia, Giancarlo Giorgetti, DBRS, Fitch, Moody's, Meloni, Giuseppe Fonte, Keith Weir Organizations: Treasury, European Commission, P, Thomson Locations: ROME, Rome, Ukraine, Italy
Eni's (ENI.MI) Plenitude subsidiary generates power from renewables, sells electricity, gas and energy services to households and businesses, and offers power for electric cars. The unit prices for all the charging points at direct current will remain stable at between 0.85 euros and 0.95 euros per kWh depending on the speed of charging, Plenitude added. Last year the company had 13,093 charging points, of which 12,099 at alternating current and the rest at direct current. Most of the charging points are in Italy. In addition, Plenitude said it would increase penalties for customers leaving their cars parked at charging points after having finished replenishing the battery.
Persons: Molly Darlington, Plenitude, Francesca Landini, Keith Weir Organizations: REUTERS, Eni, Thomson Locations: Northwich, Britain, Italy
Southern Italians stick with student life as jobs hard to find
  + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
Oct 12 (Reuters) - Southern Italians are studying more and for longer as a shortage of jobs forces many to either stay in school or relocate, a report by national statistics bureau ISTAT showed on Thursday. "The lack of stable and good quality job opportunities in the Mezzogiorno is nothing new, but the situation among "millennials" is getting worse", ISTAT said. "The current youth of the Mezzogiorno face a longer and more complicated journey towards adulthood," it added. "It is a paradox, but in the medium-long term, this could fuel a further deprivation of human capital with advanced skills, which is indispensable for the Mezzogiorno", ISTAT said. Southern youths are dissatisfied with their economic situation and almost three quarters of them still live with their parents.
Persons: Alessandro Parodi, Keith Weir Organizations: ISTAT, Thomson Locations: Southern, Sicily, Sardinia, Italy
MILAN, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Italy's top flight soccer league Serie A is pressing ahead with plans to launch its own media operations with the support of financial investors as a sale process of domestic broadcasting licences struggles to gain traction, club and league officials said. The creation of a media platform to distribute Serie A matches to other TV outlets as well as the launch of a league-run live video streaming subscription service have been repeatedly floated in recent years. The launch of a TV streaming service platform to broadcast matches would a first for any major soccer league in Europe. The 20 clubs may also decide to use the league's streaming platform to screen only some of the matches, awarding part of the rights to the established broadcasters. TV rights are a key source of revenue for Serie A clubs such as this year's champions Napoli, Juventus (JUVE.MI) and Milanese clubs AC Milan and Inter.
Persons: Elvira Pollina, Keith Weir Organizations: MILAN, Serie, Sky Italia, Napoli, Juventus, Milanese, AC Milan, Inter, English Premier League, Premier League, Thomson Locations: Europe
View of the entrance to the headquarters of Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), the oldest bank in the world, which is facing massive layoffs as part of a planned corporate merger, in Siena, Italy, August 11, 2021. Among the 15 defendants cleared by Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation were former MPS Chairman Giuseppe Mussari and its former Managing Director Antonio Vigni and Deutsche (DBKGn.DE) and Nomura (8604.T). The appeals court cancelled seizures imposed on Deutsche Bank and Nomura Holdings Inc (8604.T) for 64.9 million and 88 million euros, respectively. The case centred on two derivatives transactions — dubbed Alexandria and Santorini — that Nomura and Deutsche Bank arranged for MPS in 2009. MPS, the world's oldest bank still in business and Italy's fifth biggest listed lender, had reached a court settlement in 2016 in the derivatives case at a cost of 10.6 million euros.
Persons: Jennifer Lorenzini, Siena, Giuseppe Mussari, Antonio Vigni, Nomura, Marco Carta, Keith Weir, Valentina Za Organizations: Monte, REUTERS, Rights, Monte dei, Deutsche Bank, Nomura, Italy's, Cassation, Deutsche, Nomura Holdings Inc, MPS, Prosecutors, Thomson Locations: Monte dei, Siena, Italy, Milan, Alexandria
That's why his remarkable, record-setting year on the PGA Tour Champions has Stricker thinking about playing more on the PGA Tour next year. “I don't know if it will work,” Stricker said at the Constellation Furyk & Friends. He already has set the PGA Tour Champions earnings record — currently $3,986,063 — and he is a lock to become the first senior player to surpass $4 million in a year. The courses on the PGA Tour Champions aren't as long and the competition isn't nearly as strong. “It's just a great time to be part of the PGA Tour,” he said.
Persons: Steve Stricker, , ” Stricker, , Stricker, Marco Simone, Charles Schwab, , “ I've, I've, I'm, Brooks Koepka, ” Stricker hasn't, Mike Weir, Weir couldn't, “ Jordan Spieth, ” Weir, Strick, “ It's, ___ Organizations: PGA, Constellation, Timuquana, Ryder, U.S . Senior, Phoenix, Ryder Cup, Sony Locations: JACKSONVILLE, Fla, Rome, Scottsdale, Europe, Oahu, Timuquana
[1/6] Flowers are seen at the site where a coach crashed off an overpass in Mestre, Italy, October 4, 2023. Five Ukrainians, a German and the Italian bus driver were among those killed, Venice's prefect Michele Di Bari, the local representative of the interior ministry, said on Wednesday. "We presume the driver may have fallen ill," Veneto regional president Luca Zaia told Rtl 102.5 radio. The bus had been ferrying the tourists back to a campsite in nearby Marghera after a day out in Venice. "I think the driver had an illness, because otherwise I can't explain it," Fiorese said, adding that the driver had started his shift less than two hours before the crash.
Persons: Claudia Greco, Michele Di Bari, Luca Zaia, Di Bari, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Corriere, Massimo Fiorese, Corriere della Sera, Fiorese, Alvise Armellini, Keith Weir, Bernadette Baum, Gavin Jones, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Rtl, Corriere della Sera, Thomson Locations: Mestre, Italy, Venice Italian, VENICE, Venice, Veneto, Croatian, Marghera, Nigeria
VENICE, Italy, Oct 3 (Reuters) - At least 21 people died on Tuesday and 18 were injured after a bus carrying tourists to a campground crashed off an overpass near Venice in northern Italy and caught fire, city officials said. Venice city councillor Renato Boraso said one line of enquiry was that the driver, a 40-year-old Italian who was among those killed, had been taken ill before the crash. He said the coach had been carrying 40 passengers, of whom 21 had died and 18 were injured. Venice's city hall said the injured people had been taken to nearby hospitals, with four in a serious condition. The bus was also carrying passengers from France and Croatia, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
Persons: Renato Boraso, Boraso, Luigi Brugnaro, Manuel Silvestri, Michele Di Bari, ANSA, Di Bari, Giorgia Meloni, Emilio Parodi, Gavin Jones, Keith Weir, Alvise, Crispian Balmer, Lisa Shumaker, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Sky Italia, Rescue, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: VENICE, Italy, Venice, Mestre, Venice's, France, Croatia, Verona
Pirelli's Chinese investors terminate shareholder agreement
  + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +1 min
A tyre produced by the Italian company Pirelli is on display at a dealership in Moscow, Russia, March 23, 2023. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Pirelli's (PIRC.MI) Chinese investors Sinochem and Silk Road Fund have decided not to extend their agreement to work together on some issues at the tyremaker, the Italian group said on Tuesday. The two investors, which hold stakes of 37% and 9% respectively, had initially signed the shareholder agreement in 2020. As part of it, Silk Road Fund had committed to follow Sinochem's votes at Pirelli shareholder meetings on selected matters for a stake comprising 5% out of their total 9%. The agreement terminated due to its expiry on Sept. 29, Pirelli said in a statement, without providing reasons for the decision.
Persons: Maxim, Pirelli, Sinochem, Camfin, Marco Tronchetti Provera, Giulio Piovaccari, Keith Weir Organizations: Pirelli, REUTERS, Silk, Fund, Formula, Thomson Locations: Italian, Moscow, Russia, Sinochem
Security guards stand at the BYD booth at the Auto Shanghai show, in Shanghai, China April 19, 2023. Rome sees the French incentive framework as "reasonable", one of the sources said, adding the government was studying such an option. European Union competition rules do not allow countries to favour local producers. Paris has said criteria it adopted are compliant with WTO rules because exemptions are allowed for health and environmental reasons. Talks, which are expected to go on until the end of this year, include new incentive schemes in Italy.
Persons: Aly, Adolfo Urso, Giuseppe Fonte, Gilles Guillaume, Parisand Giulio Piovaccari, Giulio Piovaccari, Keith Weir Organizations: Auto, REUTERS, Reuters, European Union, Fiat, Industry, Thomson Locations: Auto Shanghai, Shanghai, China, Italy, France, Europe, Rome, Paris, Milan
Explainer: What's at stake in Telecom Italia grid deal?
  + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +3 min
TIM is selling NetCo, a venture comprising both TIM's domestic fixed-access network and international wholesale telecoms operator Sparkle. TIM's landline network covers nearly 89% of the country's households and its fibre cable stretches over 23 million kilometres across the country. Beyond TIM's grid, a second major network is being rolled out by Open Fiber, a company controlled by CDP and Australian investment group Macquarie. There had long been talks of trying to combine TIM's network with Open Fiber but competition concerns have hampered such a deal so far. With its 24% voting stake, Vivendi could throw a spanner in the works at any TIM shareholder meeting to vote on a deal or challenge it in the courts.
Persons: Yara, Pietro Labriola's, Giorgia, Elvira Pollina, Keith Weir, Anil D'Silva Organizations: REUTERS, KKR, Italian Treasury, Telecom Italia's, TIM, WHO, Vivendi, Treasury, Trade, Macquarie, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy
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