Telecom Italia S.p.A. announces that it has purchased the maximum number of own shares authorized by the Shareholders’ Meeting on 16 April 2007, concluding the first tranche of the buy-back plan announced on 8 August 2008 in service of the plan for the free assignment of ordinary shares in Telecom Italia S.p.A. reserved for the Group’s top management (cf. the Prospectus published on 9 August 2008, updated 16 September 2008).
The 25,000,000 ordinary shares in Telecom Italia S.p.A. were purchased through an intermediary on the regulated Italian electronic share market MTA, operated by Borsa Italiana, in accordance with the “Rules of the Markets Organized and Managed by Borsa Italiana S.p.A.” and the associated instructions, as detailed in the following table:
The purchase volumes did not exceed 25% of the average daily volume of shares of Telecom Italia S.p.A. traded on the Mercato Telematico Azionario, calculated according to the daily average volume of trades during the 20 days of trading preceding the date of purchase.
The price per share was between a minimum and maximum corresponding to the weighted average of the official prices of the shares being purchased recorded by Borsa Italiana S.p.A. during the last ten days of trading prior to the date of purchase, decreased or increased by 10%, respectively. Financial coverage of the entire buy-back plan (for a total value of €27,099,200.00, plus commissions) did not require recourse to additional gross financial debt.
The transactions summarized above exhausted the authorization to buy back own shares granted by resolution of the Shareholders’ Meeting on 16 April 2007, the expiration date for which was set on 16 October 2008. This document should therefore be considered notice pursuant to article 144-bis of the Rules for Issuers.
When the plan was initiated, Telecom Italia S.p.A. held 1,272,014 ordinary own shares (corresponding to 0.01% of the share class). At the conclusion of the foregoing transactions, it held 26,272,014 (corresponding to 0.20% of the share class). The Luxembourg-based Telecom Italia Finance S.A., fully owned by Telecom Italia S.p.A., holds a further 124,544,373 ordinary shares in the Parent Company (corresponding to 0.93% of the share class).
The Company would like to clarify that the second tranche of the aforementioned plan to buy back own shares has not yet been executed. This second tranche refers to a maximum of an additional 11,400,000 ordinary own shares to be bought back by 14 October 2009 (as authorized by the Shareholders’ Meeting on 14 April 2008) in service of the stock option plan reserved for the top management of Telecom Italia S.p.A., as described in the fact sheet published on 28 March 2008 and updated on 16 April 2008.
Rome, 26 September 2008
