"The inspection relates to developments stemming from the November 7 board meeting," the source told Reuters.

On November 7, the board of Telecom Italia approved wide-ranging plans to sell assets, including its Argentine unit, and issued a convertible bond, aiming to raise around 4 billion euros to stave off a credit rating downgrade and strengthen operations in Italy and Brazil.

The source said the visit was undertaken on Consob's initiative and did not mean that magistrates had opened an investigation.

Telecom Italia and Consob could not immediately be reached for comment.

The business plan by Telecom Italia has been criticised by some minority investors who accuse it of only look after the interests of its main shareholders.

(Reporting by Paola Arosio; editing by Emilio Parodi)

Stocks treated in this article : Telefonica SA, Telecom Italia SpA, Telecom Argentina SA