MILAN (Reuters) -ASATI, an association of small investors in Italian phone group Telecom Italia (BIT:TLIT) (TIM), said on Monday it is filing a list of candidates for the board of directors, which is up for renewal at next month's annual general meeting.
ASATI is seeking to appoint a director representing 8,000 small TIM shareholders collectively holding a combined stake of about 1% in the company, said Franco Lombardi, the head of the association.
He added the candidate list of eight nominees would not include a candidate for the role of chief executive officer.
TIM investors are due to meet on April 23 to vote on the renewal of the board, with current CEO Pietro Labriola on a hunt for a second mandate as part of the slate of candidates put forward by the outgoing board.
Labriola has come under pressure following a record stock plunge this month after he unveiled the financial outlook for the business emerging from the sale of the former phone monopoly's domestic access network to U.S. fund KKR.
However, in its statement, ASATI said it agrees with the general outline of TIM's business plan to sell the network and to reduce the company's debt pile.
TIM investor Merlyn Partners also unveiled plans to file a slate of candidates for the board renewal last week.
Having previously challenged the network disposal, Merlyn said TIM should seek to conclude the deal "as soon as possible" while also selling its Brazilian-listed subsidiary and the retail domestic business to focus on the value added business segment.
Backed by the Italian government and worth up to 22 billion euros, the KKR deal has been opposed by TIM's top investor Vivendi (EPA:VIV), which has questioned the sustainability of the remaining business and challenged the deal in court.
With its 24% stake, Vivendi could stand in the way of Labriola's reappointment.