Telefonica Says No Agreement With BlackRock Over Telecom Italia

(RTTNews) - Spanish telecom group Telefonica S.A. (TEF, TDE.L) said Thursday that it had no agreement with investment manager BlackRock Inc. (BLK) over Telecom Italia Group (TI, TIAOF.PK), ahead of the meeting of investors of the Italian telecom group.

Telefonica controls Telecom Italia through investment vehicle Telco, along with a group of financial institutions based in Italy. These own 22.4 percent of the Italian phone company.

Spain-based Telefonica is prohibited from raising its nearly 15 percent indirect stake in Telecom Italia, unless another shareholders has more than 10 percent stake in the Italian firm.

BlackRock Inc. said earlier this week that it amended its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission related to its shareholding in Telecom Italia. The firm said its stake was now 9.97 percent, and not the 10.1 percent as previously disclosed.

Telefonica closed in Madrid on Thursday at 11.61 euros, up 1.6 percent from the previous close.