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MILAN, March 23 (Reuters) - Activist investor Elliott Advisors slammed as “cynical and self-serving” a move by French media group Vivendi to force Telecom Italia to have to name a new board after a majority of directors resigned.
Eight Telecom Italia board members who had been appointed by the Italian phone group’s top investor Vivendi resigned on Thursday, triggering a full board reshuffle. The move is seen as an attempt to pre-empt moves by Elliott to challenge the way Vivendi runs the group.
“The Board has simply abandoned their posts to stall for time,” Elliott said in a statement, adding that this did not come as a surprise given “the momentum behind Elliott’s campaign at Telecom Italia to improve both performance and governance”.
Reporting by Valentina Za Editing by David Goodman
