MILAN (Reuters) – An Italian court has given the government and Telecom Italia until Jan. 20 to discuss a potential accord over the phone group’s request it gets 1 billion euros ($1 billion) from the state, a source with knowledge of the matter said.
The payment request stems from a dispute dating back to 1998 over the liberalisation of Italy’s telecoms sector. In April a Rome court ruled in favour of TIM and ordered the Italian government to pay TIM about 1 billion euros, including interest.
The government appealed the April’s ruling, and sought a suspension of its effects until its appeal is heard in front of Italy’s top court.
On Monday the court postponed any decision over the government’s suspension request, and set a deadline for the parties to first see if they can reach an out-of-court settlement, the source said.
It scheduled a new hearing on Jan. 20 to check progress in the negotiation before deciding on the case, the same source added.
TIM CEO Pietro Labriola last month said that any cash from the court case could be used to support future shareholder reward plans.
With its finances under strain, TIM since 2021 has suspended any payments to shareholders, including holders of savings shares, which command a minimum dividend.
Having parted ways with TIM’s fixed line network in a deal that cut the group’s debt pile and stabilised its finances, Labriola is looking at options to remunerate investors. ($1 = 0.9519 euros)
(Reporting by Elvira Pollina; Editing by Valentina Za)
