Telecom Italia Chairman Calls Talk of Merger With Orange 'Fantasy'

By Manuela Mesco

MILAN--Telecom Italia's Chairman Giuseppe Recchi said on Friday that a merger with France's Orange SA was "a fantasy."

Mr. Recchi was replying to a recent comments by Orange Chief Executive Stephane Richard, who said that he would look at an operation involving the Italian company if called on to do so by Telecom Italia's largest shareholder, French media company Vivendi SA.

Speaking on the sidelines of an event in Milan, Mr. Recchi added that any operations regarding Orange and Telecom Italia should go through the board of directors and no plan has been discussed so far.

"It is a fantasy." Mr. Recchi said, adding that people who repeatedly say things related to operations that don't exist should take responsibility for what they say as these statements can affect share prices.

Mr. Recchi also said that cross-border consolidation doesn't necessarily create value, while national consolidation makes more sense from an industrial standpoint. "The only synergies [in cross-border consolidation] are financial and not industrial," Mr. Recchi said.

Write to Manuela Mesco at manuela.mesco@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 11, 2016 06:09 ET (11:09 GMT)

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