CORRECTED-FACTBOX-Five facts about Roberto Colaninno

(Corrects value of 1999 Telecom Italia leveraged buyout to $58 billion from $58 million in third bullet point)

Aug 26 (Reuters) - Roberto Colaninno, best known for his 1999 leveraged buyout of Telecom Italia, is to become chairman of a new company that will run Alitalia AZPIa.MI as part of a rescue plan, according to a source familiar with the dossier. Below are five facts about the 65-year-old financier:

* Colaninno founds Sogefi (SGFI.MI) in 1981 and builds the auto components group into a multinational with a stock market listing.

* In 1996, he becomes head of Olivetti, a near bankrupt maker of typewriters and personal computers that he turns into a strong telecommunications group with stakes in mobile phone operator Omnitel and fixed-line phone company Infostrada.

* In 1999, he leads a $58 billion leveraged buy-out of Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI). The surprise move is the world's largest hostile takeover at the time, making him a legend.

Colaninno remains chairman and chief executive of the former telecommunications monopoly until 2001, when he is ousted. Many investors who had initially applauded the takeover become less fond of his manoeuvres to pay off debt. Colaninno's allies became disenchanted, selling their shares to Pirelli & C (PECI.MI), thereby allowing this group to take over Telecom Italia. Their decision was said to have been taken while Colaninno was on a hunting trip in Argentina.

* Flush with cash from the sale of Telecom Italia, Colaninno buys IMMSI (IMSI.MI) a year later. He converts the real estate subsidiary of Telecom Italy into an investment company.

* In 2003, IMMSI buys scooter maker Piaggio & C SpA (PIA.MI) and motorcycle maker Aprilia a year later. Colaninno oversees a successful restructuring of Piaggio, expanding its operations to India and Vietman, where demand for two-wheelers is strong. He lists Piaggio on the Milan stock exchange in 2006 at 2.30 euros a share, the bottom of the indicative price range. For most of 2008, it trades below that level. Source: Reuters

(Reporting by Gilles Castonguay)