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T.Italia CEO says ready to sell Argentine stake paper
Reuters
June 25, 2009

MILAN, June 25 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia SpA (TLIT.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is ready to sell its stake in Telecom Argentina if the price is right, Italian newspapers reported on Thursday, quoting Chief Executive Franco Bernabe.

Industry sources close to the matter have said that Telecom Italia, Italy's No. 1 telecom operator, is likely to sell its stake in its Argentine unit, which is caught up in a probe by antitrust regulators. [ID:nLO888301]

Telecom's 50 percent stake in Sofora, the holding company that controls Telecom Argentina, is expected to be worth up to 300 million euros ($415.7 million), an Italian newspaper has said.

The phone company could consider a sale "if there are interesting offers", Bernabe was quoted as saying by Corriere della Sera.

"A sale is not the objective. The objective is to raise the value of the asset and if prices are right we'll consider them."

Argentina's Werthein family investment group said on Wednesday if Telecom Italia wanted to sell its stake in Telecom Argentina (TEC2.BA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (TEO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), they would consider buying it. [ID:nN24221411]

Telecom Italia and the Wertheins each own 50 percent of Sofora, the holding company that controls Telecom Argentina, one of Argentina's top telecommunications companies. (Reporting by Danilo Masoni: Editing by Mike Nesbit)

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