Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 21, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleTelecom Italia's board will meet to discuss converting savings shares to ordinary stock, aiming to simplify its capital structure and resume dividends.
By Elvira Pollina
MILAN, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia's board will meet on Sunday afternoon to discuss a long-awaited plan to convert its savings shares into ordinary stock, two sources said, a move aimed at cutting costs and simplifying its capital structure.
The special board meeting comes a day after the former phone monopoly won a 1-billion-euro ($1.2-billion) payout from the government in a long-running lawsuit, providing fresh resources to fund its savings-share conversion plan and help it resume dividend payments, which it halted in 2022.
The board will discuss the final terms of the conversion plan and is expected to call a shareholder meeting at the end of January to vote on the proposal, the two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The board is also expected to name a director to fill a vacant seat, the sources added, without going into further detail.
A Telecom Italia spokesperson declined to comment.
The conversion of savings shares would mark another key step in the company's restructuring, following the 19.8-billion-euro sale of its fixed-line network to KKR aimed at cutting debt, and the entry of state-backed Poste Italiane as its largest shareholder.
Nearly 28% of Telecom Italia's capital structure consists of savings shares, which carry a guaranteed minimum dividend of about 166 million euros a year.
Chief Executive Pietro Labriola has repeatedly said Italy's biggest phone group aims to eliminate its dual-class share structure and shed costly savings shares in a market-friendly way.
At Friday's market close, the savings shares traded at 0.57 euros each, offering a premium of 7 cents over the ordinary stock.
The conversion would need a two-thirds majority at the meeting of ordinary shareholders, and would dilute the holdings of existing ordinary investors, including top shareholder Poste Italiane, which has a 27.3% stake.
Savings shareholders will also vote upon the proposal separately.
Telecom Italia sought to eliminate its savings shares a decade ago, but the plan was blocked by then top investor Vivendi.
($1 = 0.8541 euros)
(Reporting by Elvira Pollina, editing by Andrew Heavens)
Savings shares are a type of equity that typically carry a guaranteed minimum dividend, providing a steady income to shareholders.
Capital structure refers to the mix of debt and equity that a company uses to finance its operations and growth.
A dividend is a portion of a company's earnings distributed to its shareholders, typically paid in cash or additional shares.
Equity investment involves purchasing shares of a company, giving investors ownership rights and a claim on future profits.
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