By P.R. Venkat and Mauro Orru
Italy's state-controlled postal service Poste Italiane has made a $12.50 billion cash-and-stock bid for Telecom Italia, a move that could bring its operations and infrastructure back under government ownership.
Poste Italiane said Sunday that it was offering a combination of cash and shares for a consideration of 10.8 billion euros, equivalent to $12.50 billion, with Telecom Italia shareholders set to receive 0.167 euros in cash and 0.0218 newly issued Poste Italiane shares for each share held.
The bid values the Italian telecommunications company at 0.635 euro a share, representing a 9% premium to Telecom Italia's closing price on Friday. Poste Italiane shares fell more than 6% in early afternoon European trade Monday, while Telecom Italia stock gained over 5%.
Formed through the merger of several companies that populated Italy's telecoms landscape in the 1900s, Telecom Italia has become a fixture of the country's industrial base since its privatization in the late 1990s, evolving from a traditional telecoms provider into a diversified information- and communication-technology group.
The company, which has operations in Italy and Brazil, now offers core fixed and mobile telephony services, but also cloud, cybersecurity and entertainment services. Last year, it agreed to sell its submarine cable unit Sparkle--which develops 5G mobile networks and fiber-network infrastructure--to the Italian government and fiber operator Retelit.
A takeover from Poste Italiane, which already has a roughly 27% stake in Telecom Italia, would bring its operations and network infrastructure under public ownership after about three decades.
Telecom Italia didn't respond to a request for comment.
Poste Italiane generates the lion's share of sales from its core mail, parcels and distribution business and financial-services unit. However, a deal for Telecom Italia would enable it to significantly expand its Postepay unit that provides mobile and fixed-line telephone services.
Poste Italiane Chief Executive Matteo Del Fante said in a call Monday that a merger would create a national champion with services spanning logistics, distribution, data, connectivity and tech, giving it a competitive advantage in the artificial-intelligence era.
The company said the transaction should be completed by the end of the year.
Write to P.R. Venkat at venkat.pr@wsj.com and Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 23, 2026 07:43 ET (11:43 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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