VIV Vivendi SE

(Adds detail, quotes.)

 
   By Donato Paolo Mancini 
 

Telecom Italia's (TIT.MI) board has ousted Chief Executive Amos Genish with immediate effect, the company said Tuesday, the culmination of a monthslong tussle between its two main shareholders, Vivendi SA (VIV.FR) and Elliott Management Corp.

Mr. Genish was the second chief executive to guide the company in little more than a year. Last summer, Flavio Cattaneo resigned after relations with Vivendi soured, having held the top position for about a year.

The president of the board, Fulvio Conti, will take over in the interim and a board meeting has been called for Sunday to choose a new CEO, Telecom Italia said.

Vivendi and Elliott have been at odds for months regarding Telecom Italia, with Elliott pushing for strategic changes at the company. In spring, Elliott took control of the board. Mr. Genish, who was appointed by Vivendi, appeared until recently to have Elliott's support.

"Mr. Genish was supposed to be OK both for Vivendi and Elliott," Alexandre Iatrides of financial-services group ODDO BHF said. "I think we're watching another event of war between the two and, in that sense, Mr. Genish is the fuse [for this event]."

Telecom Italia's woes have been more operational and structural rather management-related, Mr. Iatrides said. Elliott had been pushing for a network split, and Vivendi wasn't against it, he said. But the plan suffered many setbacks and has been canceled and restarted several times, also owing to Telecom Italia's high debt load.

A now-removed biography page on Telecom Italia's website said Mr. Genish, who was appointed to the chief executive role last September, was born in Israel and holds a degree in accounting and economics. He held an executive position at Vivendi in the first half of 2017, according to an archived copy of the page seen by Dow Jones Newswires.

Activist fund Elliott has been waging corporate battles around the world which have affected companies spanning sectors from manufacturing to asset management.

Write to Donato Paolo Mancini at donatopaolo.mancini@dowjones.com; @donatopmancini

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 13, 2018 05:42 ET (10:42 GMT)

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