MILAN, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Italy's highest court has ruled in favour of Telecom Italia (TIM) in a concession fee case dating back to 1998, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on
TIM Wins €1 Billion Court Case, Plans Share Conversion
By Elvira Pollina
MILAN, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia (TIM) said Italy's highest court had ruled in its favour in a long-running concession fee case, confirming the group is owed just over 1 billion euros ($1.2 bln) to end a dispute that has dragged on for over two decades.
In a statement on Saturday, the former phone monopoly confirmed what sources had earlier told Reuters.
The reimbursement of the concession fee is expected to unlock a long-awaited plan to convert TIM's savings shares into ordinary stock and help the cash-starved company to resume dividend payments, which it halted in 2022.
The conversion could be discussed already at a board meeting TIM is expected to hold on December 29, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.
The dispute stems from the liberalisation of Italy's telecoms sector. TIM sued the state to recover the licence fee it was required to pay in 1998, the year after the sector was deregulated.
A lower court had ordered Italy's government to pay the sum to TIM, but Rome had appealed that decision.
The amount TIM is entitled to based on the Supreme Court's decision is roughly double the original licence fee, worth slightly more than 500 million euros, due to revaluation and accrued interest.
Italy's Treasury declined to comment while the prime minister's office was not immediately available to comment.
The ruling is not expected to significantly affect Italy's efforts to cut its budget deficit below 3% of national output, because the government has already set aside 2.2 billion euros in its 2026 budget to cover national and European Union litigation costs.
The payout gives CEO Pietro Labriola funds to press ahead with a long-standing plan to scrap TIM's dual-class share structure and phase out costly savings shares.
These shares, which guarantee a minimum dividend, make up about 28% of TIM's capital.
($1 = 0.8541 euros)
(Reporting by Elvira Pollina and Marco Roberti; Additional reporting by Giuseppe Fonte; Writing by Sara Rossi; Editing by Valentina Za)
