Italy's state-controlled postal service Poste Italiane has accumulated an 85.82 percent stake in Telecom Italia after acquiring an additional 65.7 percent share, confirmed late last week. The total deal is valued at an estimated 13 billion euros ($14.78 billion), following board approval in July and the tendering of shares by TIM CEO Pietro Labriola and other key management. Poste's stake falls just short of the 90 percent threshold required to take Telecom Italia fully private. TIM previously sold its fixed network subsidiary NetCo to investment firm KKR in 2024 for 22 billion euros ($25 billion), a transaction that covered its landline grid network.
Poste Italiane's near-complete acquisition of Telecom Italia consolidates control of a major national telecoms operator, including its data center assets, under a state-controlled entity, reshaping the competitive landscape for data center and connectivity services in Italy. The 85.82 percent stake, combined with the earlier KKR acquisition of NetCo, means Italy's core digital infrastructure is now divided between two large transactions totaling tens of billions of euros, with implications for future investment priorities and market access.
An 85% acquisition of Telecom Italia's data center assets by Poste Italiane is a major European M&A event with significant market implications for the Italian and broader European colocation landscape.