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Investing.com --Shares of Telecom Italia (BIT:TLIT) were flat on Friday after plunging as much as 8% earlier in the session, as French rival Iliad ruled out reviving merger talks.
In a regulatory filing dated August 26, BlackRock disclosed it has raised its stake in TIM to 5.1% from 4.977%, Reuters reported.
The new holding includes 3.585% of voting shares, 1.1% potential holdings, and 0.414% in cash-settled positions.
Iliad chief executive Thomas Reynaud said there had been no discussions with TIM since April and that none would resume, shutting down near-term prospects for consolidation in Italy’s telecom market.
Barclays analysts noted that no operator in Italy is currently earning its cost of capital, with average returns at just 1.2%, and argued that consolidation remains “much needed” even if unlikely soon.
Instead, Iliad is focusing on its home market. Reynaud confirmed preliminary talks with competitors regarding SFR, the French operator owned by debt-laden Altice.
A deal could reduce France’s mobile operators from four to three, following similar comments from Orange in June.
Iliad has previously sought expansion in Italy, including an unsuccessful attempt to acquire Vodafone’s local unit in 2024.
Despite setbacks, it continues to grow its subscriber base: in the first half of 2025, group revenues rose 3.8% year on year to €5.09 billion.
Its Free brand in France held steady at 23.1 million subscribers, Poland added 100,000 to 15.5 million, and Italy gained 505,000 to reach 12.5 million.