Poste Bids €10.8 Billion for Full Control of Telecom Italia

Poste Italiane SpA made a €10.8 billion ($12.5 billion) offer to buy full control of Telecom Italia SpA, in a deal that would return the former phone monopoly to government ownership three decades after its privatization.

The cash-and-stock bid values Telecom Italia at about €0.635 a share, a 9% premium to Telecom Italia’s closing price on Friday, Poste said late Sunday in announcing the offer. The state-controlled postal service is already Telecom Italia’s biggest owner with a 27% stake in the ordinary shares.