ROME, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The head of Telecom Italia has said he will take a wait-and-see attitude about the direction the company will take under his leadership, local media reported on Friday.
On Italian island Capri, Arnaud de Puyfontaine, the company's executive chairman, said Thursday he has "no preconception on anything [regarding Telecom Italia] or what we will do to build the success of the company", according to Italian media reports.
The remarks came amid speculation that de Puyfontaine and newly installed Telecom Italia chief executive officer Amos Genish would look to spin off various parts of the company as a way to maximize profits.
Speculation about separating the fixed-line side of Telecom Italia's operations has been particularly intense in recent weeks.
Both de Puyfontaine and Genish came to Telecom Italia from French media giant Vivendi, where de Puyfontaine serves as CEO and Genish is a top manager.
The latest remarks came also amid rising concerns in Italy that Vivendi, which also chose two-thirds of Telecom Italia's 15-member board of directors, has too much influence over Telecom Italia, which is considered a "strategic" company in Italy, a status that gives the government extra say over its operations.
In a new development, Italy's state-owned lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti has said it was prepared to buy a large stake in Telecom Italia in order to keep it in Italian hands.
Separate from de Puyfontaine's remarks, Telecom Italia has started the process of selling its majority stake in broadcaster Persidera, a stake reported to be worth at least 300 million euros (360 million U.S. dollars) cash that could be used to pay down Telecom Italia's debt, which is thought to total 25 billion euros.
