The deal has faced several reservations from Vivendi, the French media group that owns a near 24% stake in TIM
The Italian Treasury has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) this past Thursday, marking a preliminary agreement with U.S. private equity fund KKR that would lead to the government acquiring as much as a 20% stake in Telecom Italia’s (TIM) landline grid.
According to reports, Telecom Italia is in discussions with KKR over the acquisition of NetCo, which includes TIM’s fixed domestic access grid and its submarine cable unit Sparkle. Further, F2I, an Italian infrastructure fund is also expected to invest in NetCo, meaning that Italy’s overall stake of the venture in could reach around 30%, reported Reuters.
It’s no secret that TIM has been struggling with debt — reportedly as much as 26 billion euros ($28.6 billion) — and as a result, the carrier has been transferring its main assets to wholly owned subsidiaries and then selling them off, as well as shedding staff.
Despite the signing of the MoU, the sale has faced several reservations from Vivendi, the French media group that owns a near 24% stake in the Italian telecom. While Reuters stated that Vivendi views the potential deal as “positive news,” is also reported that a source commented on Friday that a “serious dialogue” is still necessary to reach concrete and feasible solutions.
KKR has until the end of September to make a binding bid.
