Telecom Italia Board May Seek to Replace Chief Executive

(Bloomberg) -- Telecom Italia SpA’s board could seek to replace Chief Executive Officer Luigi Gubitosi after a surprise profit warning last month, la Repubblica reported, citing a letter from 11 of its 15 directors to Chairman Salvatore Rossi.

The directors asked Rossi for an urgent meeting, scheduled for Nov. 26, after S&P Global Ratings downgraded Telecom Italia’s rating to BB from BB+ on Friday, the newspaper reported.

A spokesman for Telecom Italia, the former phone monopoly, wasn’t immediately available for comment.

That follows a Nov. 11 board meeting, called by the company’s largest shareholder, Vivendi SE, which put pressure on Gubitosi to accelerate turnaround plans. The meeting focused on a potential reorganization and strategies to revive Telecom Italia’s fortunes, people familiar said at the time. Efforts by Gubitosi, a former Merrill Lynch & Co. banker, to push through a merger with state-backed Open Fiber SpA have so far been unsuccessful as Mario Draghi’s government is concerned it would spark antitrust issues with the European Union.

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