Shares of Telecom Italia (BIT:TLIT) (TIM) fell on Friday after French rival Iliad ruled out reviving merger talks, though the stock later pared losses.
TIM dropped as much as 8% in early trade before recovering to trade around 1.3% lower at 05:45 ET (09:45 GMT).
Iliad chief executive Thomas Reynaud said there had been no discussions with TIM since April and that none would resume, effectively ending near-term prospects for consolidation in Italy’s telecom market.
Barclays noted that no operator in Italy is currently earning its cost of capital, with average returns of just 1.2%, and argued that consolidation remains “much needed” even if unlikely in the short term.
Instead, Iliad is turning its attention to its home market. Reynaud confirmed preliminary talks had taken place with competitors over SFR, the French operator owned by debt-laden Altice.
A deal could reduce the number of mobile carriers in France from four to three. Orange previously acknowledged that discussions among operators took place in June.
Iliad has sought to expand in Italy before, failing to buy Vodafone’s local unit in 2024, but continues to grow its subscriber base there. In the first half of 2025, the group reported revenues of €5.09 billion, up 3.8% year on year.
Its Free brand in France held steady at 23.1 million subscribers, while Poland added 100,000 to 15.5 million. In Italy, Iliad gained 505,000 subscribers, bringing its total to 12.5 million.
Source :
https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/telecom-italia-shares-pare-declines-after-8-drop-on-iliad-merger-snub-4216086
