Italy court confirms suspension of Telecom Italia fine over Vivendi control

MILAN (Reuters) - An Italian court confirmed on Thursday the suspension of a 74.3-million-euro (65.6 million pounds) fine imposed on Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) for failing to notify the government its main shareholder Vivendi (VIV.PA) had effective control.

The Rome-based administrative court had already suspended the fine in June. It will hold a new hearing on the issue on May 8, 2019, according to a copy of the court ruling.

In September, Rome began to look into the failure by the French media group, which is TIM's biggest shareholder with a 24-percent stake, to communicate to the prime minister's office that it had de facto control over the former state monopoly.

After months of friction between Vivendi and the Italian government, Rome in October applied the so-called "golden power", allowing the government to veto strategic decisions such as asset sales and mergers at businesses deemed to be of strategic national importance.

(Reporting by Domenico Lusi, writing Giulia Segreti, editing by Steve Scherer)