BlackRock Amends SEC Filing On Telecom Italia Stake

(RTTNews) - Investment manager BlackRock Inc. (BLK) amended its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission related to its shareholding in Italian telecom company Telecom Italia Group (TI, TIAOF.PK), and said the stake it owns in the company is 9.97 percent, and not the 10.1 percent as previously disclosed.

On Monday, BlackRock said it had a total stake of 10.14 percent in Telecom Italia, which included voting rights equal to a 7.8 percent stake and holding in a mandatory convertible bond, which will not turn into shares until 2016. On the same day, Telecom Italia announced that it has received no communication from the U.S. Investment manager regarding the increase in its stake in Telecom Italia to 10.14 percent, as indicated by the US regulatory filing.

Telecom Italia also said that it contacted BlackRock for clarification, first informally on December 11 and December 13, and then with a formal request for explanations on December 14 to which no answer was received.

BlackRock had made declaration to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on December 9, which indicated that BlackRock acquired ownership of shares and voting rights in Telecom Italia S.p.A. equal to about 1.36 billion shares, corresponding to 10.14 percent of the ordinary share capital of Telecom Italia.

According to Bloomberg, the 7.8 percent stake makes BlackRock Telecom Italia's second-biggest investor, behind an investment entity controlled by Spanish telecom group Telefónica S.A. (TEF, TDE.L).

Telecom Italia has called for Shareholders' Meeting on December 20, 2013.

BlackRock closed Monday's regular trading at $304.76, up 2.34 percent on the NYSE.

In Milan, Telecom Italia shares ended at 0.70 euros, up 5.06 percent, on 175 million shares.