Build an International Coalition
Ing C. Olivetti & Co. SpA and Cellular Communications International, Inc.

Foreign investors flocked to Italy in 1990 when its government first planned to offer a nationwide cellular license potentially worth tens of billions of dollars. Competition was fierce. As a first step, most foreign companies sought to form partnerships with local businesses, both to acquire local market knowledge and expertise and to alleviate local political concerns.


Sequent founder Thomas Tesluk, then an investment banker based in Milan, negotiated an agreement between the Italian computer manufacturing giant Olivetti and his client, U.S.-based wireless carrier Cellular Communications International. In less than a month, Tesluk laid out the plan for future cooperation and the basis for the more detailed joint venture agreement that followed.


In the years that followed, Tesluk served as CCII’s point man in Europe and the essential bridge between the companies. He also helped attract additional partners to the coalition, including Telia of Sweden and Bell Atlantic of the United States.


Tesluk was also deeply involved in developing the coalition’s wireless business plan and tender to the Italian government. The coalition established Omnitel SpA, which won the second license in 1994. Some years later, CCII and its 14 percent stake in Omnitel was purchased by Mannesmann and Olivetti for more than $2 billion.