Vivendi has increased its stake in Telecom Italia to almost 15.5%.
The French firm upped its holding in the Italian incumbent to 15.486% last week, according to a statement published by Italian stock market regulator Consob on Wednesday.
It did not provide further details.
Vivendi previously had a stake of 14.9% in Telecom Italia that it acquired as part of the sale of its Brazilian broadband business GVT to Telefonica earlier this year.
The media group’s desire to retain and build on a shareholding in Telecom Italia came as something as a surprise, given its efforts in recent years to exit the telecoms space. In addition to offloading GVT, Vivendi last year sold its 53% stake in Maroc Telecom and French mobile operator SFR.
When it became Telecom Italia’s biggest single shareholder in June this year, Vivendi confirmed that intends to support the telco over the long term.
"This investment represents an opportunity for the group to be present and to expand in a market with significant growth prospects and a very strong appetite for quality content," it said.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, Viven di chief executive Arnaud de Puyfontaine said his company’s stake in Telecom Italia represents the first step in the creation of a media group with a Southern Europe focus.
