(Telecompaper) Vivendi has prevailed in its attempt to gain four seats on the Telecom Italia board as a slim majority of shareholders voted in favour of the French media group's request to increase the number of board members from 13 to 17 to make way for four of its own representatives. Around 53 percent of shareholders backed Vivendi's proposal at a 15 December meeting in a vote that needed a simple majority to pass. Vivendi CEO Arnaud De Puyfontaine and three other directors will now take their place on Telecom Italia's board even though proxy shareholder advisers had previously said four seats would give the French company too much influence. Earlier on in the same session Vivendi had successfully blocked a management-supported share conversion plan that would have diluted its 20.5 percent stake to around 13 percent.