Telecom Italia Eyes €1 Billion Windfall After Win in Court

  • Appeals court rules in carrier’s favor on fees paid in 1990s
  • Telecom Italia said it will immediately move to recover funds

A TIM mobile phone shop in Milan, Italy.

Photographer: Camilla Cerea/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Telecom Italia SpA expects a windfall of about €1 billion ($1.1 billion) from the Italian government after a Rome appeals court ruled in favor of the one-time monopolist in a legal case dating back to the late 1990s.

The state has been ordered to pay back about €530 million plus interest to the phone carrier for licensing fees the company paid which were not actually due, according to a copy of the ruling seen by Bloomberg.