The Secretariat of Communications authorized the local Werthein group to opt out of the call option of 2% of Sofora's shares -parent company of Telecom Argentina-, with which it will hold 50% of that operator, similar to the one Telecom Italia already holds. That 2% belonged to the companies France Cables et Radio (1.3%) and Atlas Service Belgium (0.7%).
In this way, the Argentine government has taken a new step to encourage the separation of Telecom Italia from the management of Telecom Argentina, as from the recent decision of the Committee for the Defense of Competition to prohibit representatives of the Italian operator to exercise their political rights in Telecom Argentina's board.
It should be remembered that in 2003, the Werthein group purchased 48% of Sofora to France Telecom, for US$ 125 million, of which US$ 65 million were own and other US$ 60 million were paid by Telecom Italia, in exchange of a call option for those bonds. Werthein kept other call option, for the remaining 2%, that it exercised in February 2008, and that now the Government has authorized.