Word: colaninno
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...Colaninno looked as if he was making history when he launched his hostile takeover of Telecom, then the largest such deal in Europe. While not unknown in Italian business circles, he had neither the clout nor the name of the man he had replaced at Olivetti, Carlo De Benedetti. But with the help of Cuccia and the center-left government of Massimo D'Alema, which gave a green light to the takeover, Colaninno threw a wrench into Italian family-style capitalism. And in the process, he managed to step on the feet of De Benedetti and the Agnelli family...
...Colaninno's ascent was short-lived, as he turned out to be unlucky in his alliances. Cuccia died, and D'Alema was forced to resign as Prime Minister, only to be eventually succeeded by Berlusconi this spring. Then the market turned against Colaninno in March, punishing the share prices of Olivetti and Telecom Italia, and causing some concern among Colaninno's investors, largely 175 businessmen from Mantua who had backed him in the hopes of a quick return on their money. No new investors were on the horizon, and a plan to raise $8 billion in cash through a conversion...
...curtain was about to fall for Colaninno. Pirelli and Benetton put together a $6 billion package that allowed them to buy 23% of Olivetti, which in turn owns 55% of Telecom Italia. Since they already owned nearly 4% of Olivetti, their share rose to 27%, with which they can control the telecom giant. Tronchetti Provera, who is credited with turning around Pirelli, had been sitting on $3.2 billion in cash after selling two optical technology firms to Cisco and Corning. For months the guessing game in Milan was what will Pirelli buy? "Telecom has a strong market position...
...Pirelli pulled off the takeover by making an offer to Colaninno's allies in Bell, the small holding company that controlled Olivetti. While Colaninno urged his backers to stay the course, Pirelli's 80% premium was an offer they couldn't refuse. In one of the more controversial points of the takeover, however, the 80% premium was not offered to all Olivetti shareholders. By keeping their share of Olivetti under 30%, Pirelli and Benetton were not obliged to offer the buy-out to all investors. Minority shareholders are understandably furious, especially since Olivetti dropped 15.3% the first day after...
...Giancarlo Galli, a biographer of both Cuccia and the Agnelli clan, notes that for a short time before Colaninno emerged, the Agnelli family had virtual control of Telecom with just .8% of shares. "Italian finance has never really functioned with money," he says. "It's been more like trading baseball cards...