MILAN, April 22 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia (TIM)

boss Pietro Labriola was on course for a second term

after leading investor Vivendi decided to abstain in a

shareholder vote to renew the former phone monopoly's board.

TIM shareholders will vote on Tuesday on the composition of

the new board. With its 24% slate, Vivendi was the main hurdle

to a reappointment of the current CEO, who wants to press ahead

with a revamp centred on a planned sale of TIM's fixed-line

access network to U.S. fund KKR.

"Vivendi does not wish to be associated with decisions on

board appointments, as it believes that it is up to the current

management and its backers to resolve the difficult situation in

which TIM finds itself," the French group said in a statement

late on Monday.

Activist investors Merlyn Partners and Bluebell Capital

Partners, each owning 0.5% of TIM, have put forward separate

slates of candidates seeking Vivendi's backing, in a challenge

to the outgoing board's list headed by Labriola.

Backed by the Italian government, which holds an indirect

stake in TIM, the network sale is intended to mark a fresh start

for a group long hobbled by debt and fierce competition.

Vivendi, TIM's single largest shareholder, has criticised

the network sale, questioning both the price and the

sustainability of the residual services business. The French

media group is fighting the sale in court.

"Consistent with its general position, Vivendi will

vigorously pursue the appeal against the Board of Directors'

resolution of November 2023 at the Court of Milan and any other

legal means at its disposal to protect its rights", Vivendi

added.

Labriola has come under pressure after a record stock plunge

last month when markets gave a thumbs down to the financial

outlook for a slimmed down TIM business.