Oct 30 Italy's antitrust authority has asked French telecom tycoon Xavier Niel to show board minutes regarding his purchases of 15.14 percent stake in Telecom Italia , a source close to the matter said on Friday.
Niel, founder of French mobile operator Iliad, has emerged in the past two days as the second-largest investor in Telecom Italia thanks to call options contracts and other positions which grant him the equivalent of a 15.1 percent voting stake. [ID:nL8N12U14J}
The authority had written both to Niel and Telecom Italia, the source said.
"It asked Niel for information about his group and his telecoms business... it also asked him to show the minutes of the meetings during which the purchases of Telecom Italia's stake were approved," the source said.
The source added that the authority asked Telecom Italia to hand over all the documents needed to verify whether there are controlling investors in the group.
"This could lead to a probe... that could be carried out together with the EU antitrust authority, to understand whether there are agreements or institutions that aim to reduce competition," the source said. (Reporting by Alberto Sisto; writing by Francesca Landini; editing by Philip Pullella)