I didn’t see this story get a lot of play, whether it was simply because I’d already left for Barcelona, or because it got lost by everybody else in the 3GSM shuffle, but it’s worth noting that Hutchison Whampoa postponed the IPO of 3 Italia. This is the second time it’s been postponed, this one because investors saw the value of the company between €6 billion and €7.5 billion, significantly less than what Hutchison thinks it’s worth. At the same time as the IPO was postponed, Goldman Sachs bought 10 percent of 3 Italia for €420 million , which would give it a valuation of about €9 billion (less €4.8 billion in debt). That’s still a whole lot less than the €12 billion to €15 billion value Hutchison was throwing around for the IPO.

Hutchison’s been trying to portray 3 Italia as a media company (just check the new tagline on its logo for more proof), rather than a telecom operator, since they typically enjoy better valuations and trading multiples, but investors aren’t buying it. Hutchison and its execs have talked a lot of game about 3, but it certainly appears investors are less than convinced.