Egyptian telecom investor Naguib Sawiris is apparently having second thoughts about acquiring a stake in debt-laden Telecom Italia because of press reports on Friday (6 September) that the Italian government would prefer a deal with Telefonica, according to Dow Jones .

A spokesperson for Sawaris, speaking on Sunday, added that an initial approach to Telecom Italia made by the Egyptian tycoon last December was rebuffed.

According to a Reuters report last week, Sawiris had contacted ‘core’ Telecom Italia investors about acquiring stakes in the Italian operator group, as had AT&T.

No formal expressions of interest are believed to have been made.

A source said Mexico-based America Movil was also interested in the potential acquisition of a stake in the Italian operator group, but America Movil CFO Carlos Garcia Moreno denied any contact had been made in a statement to Reuters.

The Telecom Italia board is due to meet on 19 September with chairman Franco Bernabe understood to be keen to secure a new investor before the meeting.

However, on Friday Bernabe said that what came first for the telecoms company was a business plan rather than a decision on partners.

“The company is big enough and the initial idea that an industrial shareholder is needed is obsolete,” he said on the sidelines of a business gathering in Cernobbio, reported by Reuters. “What is required is an industrial plan which could include an industrial partner with Telecom on an equal footing.”