Poste CEO says TIM Brasil not strategic under new course for TIM (updated)

Telecom Italia

27/10/2026 16:20

Poste bought TIM to build Italian digital champion
TIM owns 68% of TIM Brasil, stake worth €5.3 bln
Poste will use asset 'tactically' in coming months
Adds reference to shift in strategy in paragraph 8
By Valentina Za and Elvira Pollina
MILAN, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Poste Italiane PST.MI does not consider as strategic the Brazilian business TIMS3.SA of Telecom Italia (TIM) TLIT.MI, the former phone monopoly which the postal service operator has taken over, CEO Matteo Del Fante said on Tuesday.
Poste, a state-backed financial conglomerate, owns 87% of Telecom Italia, having recently increased its stake with a buyout offer as part of a plan to create a national champion in digital infrastructure and services.
Speaking at an economic conference in Rome, Del Fante said the acquisition will allow Poste to supply digital transformation services to businesses, making the most of well-established TIM's relations with its corporate clients.
TIM Brasil is a profitable asset but not essential to the plan Poste is pursuing with its TIM takeover, Del Fante said, indicating Poste could consider strategic options for the asset. 
"We'll use it tactically over the course of the coming months," Del Fante said, without elaborating further.
Del Fante is due to present a new business plan for the combined TIM-Poste entity in the first quarter of 2027.
TIM CEO Pietro Labriola has consistently described TIM Brasil as an essential growth engine - key to supporting margins amid cut-throat price competition for TIM at home.
Del Fante told the event that a decision to allow four mobile operators in Italy had driven prices into the ground.
Poste had said when it first invested in TIM in February 2025 it intended to promote consolidation in the sector in Italy.
TIM owns about 68% of TIM Brasil, its only foreign business. The unit accounts for almost half of the group's core earnings and generates cash.
At current market prices, the TIM Brasil stake is worth around 31.8 billion Brazilian reais (€5.30 billion).
(1 euro = 5.9945 reais)

 (Reporting by Valentina Za and Elvira Pollina, editing by Gavin Jones)
 ((valentina.za@thomsonreuters.com; +39 02 6612 9526;))