State-controlled postal operator Poste Italiane has raised the cash component of its takeover bid for Telecom Italia in a strategic push to secure control of the former national telecommunications monopoly. Following an approval by its board of directors on September 7, 2026, Poste increased the cash offer by 18 percent to €1.97 per share, sweetening the terms after a sluggish initial response from Telecom Italia shareholders.
Under the revised structure, Poste is offering €1.97 in cash alongside 0.218 newly issued Poste shares listed on Euronext Milan for every Telecom Italia share tendered. By way of example, a shareholder tendering 500 Telecom Italia shares would receive €985 in cash and 109 newly issued Poste shares.
The updated terms value the overall takeover offer at approximately €13.15 billion ($15.29 billion) based on recent market closing prices, representing an increase of roughly €550 million compared to the previous proposal. Poste, which already holds a 20 percent stake in Telecom Italia, initiated the takeover bid earlier this year as part of a broader corporate plan to establish a national champion in digital infrastructure and services.
The decision to improve the terms comes after slow uptake ahead of the original deadline, with bourse data indicating that Poste had gathered only an additional 5 percent of Telecom Italia’s share capital through the tender process. Following the announcement, Telecom Italia shares closed at €7.42, trading at a slight premium over the implied €7.39 value of Poste’s revised offer. To accommodate the new terms, Poste announced that the offer period will reopen from September 21 to September 25, 2026.
