(Telecompaper) French media conglomerate Vivendi, currently Telecom Italia's biggest shareholder with a 20.1 percent stake, has announced that it will abstain from voting on the Italian operator's plan to convert its savings shares into ordinary stock at a 15 December meeting, meaning the plan is unlikely to be approved. If Telecom Italia completes its plan, Vivendi's holding could be diluted to 13.9 percent. Telecom Italia subsequently issued a statement defending the planned conversion, stressing that it was in the interests of all its shareholders and had been welcomed by analysts.