In 1986, AT&T rejected making personal computers at its Little Rock, Ark., factory, in favor of being supplied by Olivetti.
Alpha chips currently cost about $1,500 each, and thus are impractical for use in PCs, Olivetti's main business, at the moment.
Vittorio Cassoni, who had been head of Olivetti's North American operations before joining AT&T in 1986, will be nominated as managing director of the Italian company, AT&T said in a statement.
Such partnerships, Olivetti executives say, fill important holes in their product range without ceding control of the company.
In the Milan stock market, rumors are rife that he is buying Olivetti shares.
He previously held executive positions with Olivetti and the state-run RAI broadcasting network.
AT&T's Olivetti troubles added further intrigue to its news conference yesterday with Sun Microsystems, where the new software, called Open Look, was demonstrated amid Unix endorsements by a variety of applications software companies and computer makers.
C. Olivetti & Co. and Harris Corp. for undisclosed sums.
Olivetti was taken by surprise by Mr. Allen's remarks and didn't have any immediate comment.
In 1983, AT&T acquired a 25 percent stake in Olivetti and agreed to sell Olivetti personal computers in the United States under its own name.
In 1983, AT&T acquired a 25 percent stake in Olivetti and agreed to sell Olivetti personal computers in the United States under its own name.
Italian financier Carlo De Benedetti, the president of Olivetti SpA, whotrols 43 percent, wants to turn the company into that controls enterprises throughout Europe.
He added: "I cannot accept that Olivetti would become a unit of AT&T." Yet on this side of the Atlantic, AT&T executives tell a different story.
Olivetti fell L67 to L2,999 in heavy volume of 23.6m shares in largely technical trade after its strong advance through resistance at L2,900 on Tuesday.
"Either way, it's an approach that could be effective in maintaining their independence." For Siemens, Bull and Olivetti, which are Europe's only remaining big independent computer makers, the strategy is born of necessity.
Some industry executives said the talks failed partly because Olivetti decided that fixing Philips's computer division would be too costly.
But that isn't the Olivetti many other, especially smaller, customers know and still complain about.
Olivetti's stock price is near the low end of its range over the last 12 months.
Mr. Kavner, who was elected an Olivetti board member yesterday, began discussing the likelihood of his replacing Mr. Cassoni last November.
Ms. McKean said Cassoni's return to Olivetti could help the relationship. "Cassoni has a clear vision of what we're doing here and he understands our needs, and he takes that with him to Olivetti," she said.
Ms. McKean said Cassoni's return to Olivetti could help the relationship. "Cassoni has a clear vision of what we're doing here and he understands our needs, and he takes that with him to Olivetti," she said.
If the PCC is popular BT will have Olivetti's rivals queueing up to adapt their business computers to the world of video links.
Olivetti accounts, he pointed out, contained a heading of 'non-itemised expenditure' under which illicit political payments had been made.
Olivetti currently has production facilities in Singapore and Mexico, apart from its numerous plants in Italy.
A Stratus spokesman said Olivetti had been looking for an opportunity to realize its gains for some time.
So far, the signs for an Olivetti recovery in 1988 are encouraging.
PC sales to AT&T have picked up, Olivetti said, though it didn't provide any figures.
The complex financial transaction was announced Saturday at a joint news conference here by De Benedetti, chairman of both CIR and Olivetti, and Robert Allen, chairman of AT&T.
AT&T previously had disputes with Olivetti over transfer pricing and marketing strategy.
The talks "were probably broken off by Olivetti after looking at the core Philips business," said Dorian Foyil, an analyst at UBS Phillips & Drew, London.