Brazil Reportedly Asks Telefonica To Exit Stake In TIM SA

(RTTNews) - Brazil's antitrust agency on Wednesday ruled against the plans of Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica SA (TEF, TEF.MC) to gain more stake in Telecom Italia Group (TI, TIAOF.PK), noting that the move would harm competition in Brazil's mobile-phone market, media reported Wednesday.

Brazil's Council for Economic Defence or CADE asked Telefonica either to exit its direct and indirect stake in wireless carrier TIM Participacoes SA, controlled by Telecom Italia, or seek a new partner for its Vivo mobile phone unit.

CADE President Vinicius Marques de Carvalho reportedly said, "Either Telecom Italia sells TIM in Brazil, or Telefonica must leave its stake in Telecom Italia."

Earlier this year, Telefonica opted to increase its stake in Telco, a holding company that owns 22.4 percent of Telecom Italia, which will result in Telefonica taking effective control of the Italian firm early next year.

As per reports, Telefonica's Vivo had 77.4 million customers at the end of October, equivalent to 28.7 percent market share, while Telecom Italia's TIM SA had 73.2 million customers, or 27.1 percent share.

On the NYSE, Telefonica shares closed Wednesday's trading at $15.86, down $0.06 or 0.38 percent.