When controlling shareholders “live like kings”: The case of Telecom Italia

We study the evolution of the control of Telecom Italia, the sixth telecom- munication company in the world by turnover, to provide evidence of an exemplary textbook case of minority expropriation. First, we analyse how Olivetti s and Pirelli s acquisition of Telecom Italia were carried out, and in particular who paid for the acquisition of control, tracing down all opera- tion..