Tronchetti without a crown

When Marco Tronchetti Provera acquired control of Telecom Italia in 2001, he became the prince of italian finance. The Pirelli boss now looks set to lose his crown. Tronchetti’s decision to put the entire 18% stake in TI up for sale amounts to throwing in the towel. He has wriggled for years in a vain attempt to make his grandiose takeover of TI pay. But despite a display of financial gymnastics worthy of a Houdini, he has not succeeded. TI has not performed. The value of its shares are stuck a...