Restructuring / Turnaround Strategies Case Study

Telecom Italia: Troubled Times in Brazil

Abstract:
The Rome-based telecommunications company, Telecom Italia Group had grown from a loss-making state-owned telecoms firm to Italy's largest fixed-line operator and No. 1 wireless provider. Although the company was the market leader in Italy, the revenues of the company had almost been flat. After the privatisation of the company in 1997, it experienced problems on different fronts. When Marco Tronchetti Provera was appointed as the chairman in 2001, his efforts put the company on the path to profits. Although the company posted profits in 2003, the company began to face other problems. The company pinned its hopes for growth on the Brazilian market, which was the largest market for Telecom Italia outside Italy. However, its long-drawn battle with Brazil Telecom and Kroll Inc. slowed its expansion plans in Brazil

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To discuss the troubles faced by Telecom Italia after its privatisation
• To discuss the legal battles that the company faced in Brazil, the stakes for the company and the challenges it is facing in Brazil.

Keywords : Telecom Italia; Telecom Italia in Brazil; Roberto Colaninno; Marco Tronchetti Provera; Managing in Troubled Times Case Study; Telecom Italia Mobile; Olivetti; Pirelli; Edizione Holding; Benetton Group; Brasil Telecom; CVC (Citibank Venture Capital), opportunity; Opportunity asset management; Kroll; JP Morgan Chase