Telecom Italia pushed on with preparations to submit a proposal from KKR to buy its fixed network spin-off to its board of directors, despite a minority shareholder publicly pushing an alternative plan which reportedly included ousting the operator’s CEO.

In a stock market statement, Telecom Italia indicated it was still working to submit the offer from KKR to its board on 3 November, ahead of a pair of meetings to discuss it. The operator added the current project was aligned with a strategy already approved by directors and presented to shareholders in 2022.

It also acknowledged it had received a communication from investor Merlyn Advisor and RN Capital Partner, which had also been “widely circulated”, without detailing its contents or commenting directly on suggestions raised in it.

The statement followed reports in several media outlets claiming Merlyn Advisor had called for the pursuit of an alternative strategy for the operator involving maintaining the landline network, and selling consumer-facing assets and its Brazil unit instead.

Bloomberg reported the investor also called for Telecom Italia’s CEO to be replaced by Stefano Siragusa, the company’s former deputy general manager and chief network operations and wholesale officer who left in 2022.

Reuters noted Merlyn Advisor represented shareholders with a combined stake in Telecom Italia of less than 3 per cent.