Pirelli accuses Italian government of interfering in Telecom deal

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2007

MILAN (AFP) — The head of tyre group Pirelli on Monday accused the Italian government of forcing his hand in the takeover by an Italian-Spanish consortium of a controlling interest in Telecom Italia.

"A financial, political and media alliance" formed against Pirelli chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera to "get Telecom into line," he told the daily La Stampa.

Pirelli effectively "forfeited its independence" in accepting 3.3 billion euros (4.49 billion dollars) for its 14.4 percent share in the telecoms giant through the Olimpia holding company, he said.

Under an agreement on Saturday with Telecom Italia, Spain's Telefonica acquired a 10-percent stake in the Italian operator -- though indirectly as part of a new holding company, Telco.

Tronchetti Provera,...