Tronchetti’s retreat

Marco Tronchetti Provera’s acquisition of the Telecom Italia group has been a failure as an investment. Breaking it up looks like an attempt to salvage what he can from the rubble. But political opposition in Italy to selling TIM to a foreign group may stop him maximising value. What’s more, since TI’s assets are not performing well, financial engineering can only achieve so much. The plan to split out the mobile arm, TIM, with a view to a possible sale will, of course, be dressed up as an exci...