A European Commission (EC) ruling on Vivendi’s attempt to take control of Telecom Italia is set to be postponed for 90 days after the original 30 May deadline, Il Sole 24 Ore reported.

According to the Italian business title, Vivendi said it will not offer any further concessions to the EC ahead of the initial deadline. This will likely lead to an EC investigation entering a “second phase”, granting the EC more time to reach a decision.

The investigation was opened after Vivendi informed the EC it intended to take de facto control of Telecom Italia, a move announced prior to the Italian company’s board elections, which took place on 5 May and resulted in a majority of candidates proposed by Vivendi being elected.

According to Reuters reports earlier in May, the French company already offered to divest Telecom Italia’s stake in media distribution firm Persidera in an attempt to ease competition concerns and smooth the way for EC approval.

In addition to being Telecom Italia’s largest single shareholder with a 24 per cent stake, Vivendi also holds 28.8 per cent of broadcaster Mediaset – a combination which falls foul of Italy’s media ownership regulations.

During April, Italy’s communications regulator Agcom ordered Vivendi to cut one or both of its holdings and set a mid-June deadline for the company to provide details of its intended solution.