Hutchison, VimpelCom Said to Agree on CEO in Italy Merger Talks

Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. and VimpelCom Ltd. reached a consensus on senior management positions in a bid to strike an agreement to merge their Italian wireless businesses, according to people familiar with the matter.

The companies are backing Maximo Ibarra, the 46-year-old chief executive officer of VimpelCom’s Wind Telecomunicazioni unit, as CEO of the enlarged entity, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. Vincenzo Novari, who leads Hutchison’s 3 Italia division, is poised to become a board member and take a supervisory role for tycoon Li Ka-shing’s businesses in Italy, one of the people said.