Telecom Italia jumps on Egyptian offer Shares in Telecom Italia jumped to the top of a generally flat FTSE Eurofirst index on Monday after it said Egyptian investor Naguib Sawiris was interested in taking a large stake. Shares in TI jumped 5.9 per cent to €0.73 in Milan after the company issued a statement saying Mr Sawiris had offered to invest in the group in an initiative "aimed at bringing new resources dedicated to growth projects." Earlier reports had suggested a bid for up to €5bn in the company, which at present valuation of the shares, would buy a stake of a little less than a third. Overall, however, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was only 0.1 per cent higher at 1,098.87 as periphery banks remained under pressure with all eyes focused on Greek bail out talks at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers later in the day. Spain's Santander fell 1.1 per cent to €5.44, while rival Banco de Sabadell lost 1.5 per cent to €1.80, leaving the Ibex 35 index down 0.8 per cent at 7,572.3. Germany's Commerzbank, however, climbed 2.6 per cent to €1.36, recovering some poise after it was among the worst performing financial stocks last week. Germany's Xetra Dax index inched 0.2 per cent higher to 7,177.12. French adverting agency Publicis rose 2.7 per cent to €42.21 after it reported 7 per cent growth in sales in October thanks to recovering demand. The company reported last month of a slowdown in organic growth in the third quarter. Shares in Swiss jeweller Richemont were in demand after the maker of Cartier and Piaget watches was the subject of broker action following last week's stronger than expected third-quarter results. Kepler reiterated its "buy" rating, readjusting its price target to SFr74 from SFr76, which still assumes 12 per cent share price growth. Meanwhile, Nomura raised its price target to SFr69 from SFr66 with a "buy" rating. "In a market that appears to be showing signs of slowdown, the brands continue to have the ability to drive pricing and maintain their exclusive positioning," said Christopher Walker at Nomura. German utilities Eon and RWE were both modestly higher, up 1.1 per cent to €16.68 and 1 per cent to €33.49 respectively, after Eon said it was outlining a cost-cutting programme.