MILAN, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia (TIM) would welcome any consolidation in the country's telecoms market, even if competitors should make the first move, the head of Italy's former phone monopoly said on Thursday.
"We welcome any kind of market consolidation that will make the market more balanced and rational," Chief Executive Pietro Labriola told analysts during a post-results call when asked about a potential tie-up between rival Iliad and Wind Tre.
"Whoever it is that proceeds with the market consolidation in Italy will be a good sign for us," Labriola said.
A deal would reduce the number of mobile operators in one of Europe's most competitive telecoms markets to three from four.
French telecoms group Iliad failed to clinch an accord with the Italian government to combine its Italian operations with those of state-backed TIM earlier this year after it had sought to buy Vodafone's operations in the country in 2024.
Iliad, which entered Italy's telecoms market in 2018, had previously sought to combine its Italian business with that of Britain's Vodafone, but Vodafone ultimately sold its Italian operation to Swisscom's Fastweb.
Reporting by Elvira Pollina and Philippe Leroy Banlieu, editing by Giulia Segreti and Gavin Jones
Source: Reuters