MILAN, March 28 (Reuters) – Telephone group Telecom Italia (TIM) said on Monday it had received a non-binding proposal from CVC Capital Partners for a minority stake in its business services arm, confirming information given by sources to Reuters Saturday.
Newly appointed Managing Director Pietro Labriola has disclosed his intention to separate TIM’s services unit from its national fixed network in order to unlock value and make acquisitions.
The services division would include services in the “cloud” (dematerialized computing), Internet of Things, cybersecurity and connectivity for large enterprises. Sources had told Reuters that CVC’s offer was for up to 49% of the business.
TIM’s board will get a first look at the proposal at a meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
TIM added in its statement that its discussions with US investment fund KKR to assess the “attractiveness, timeliness and feasibility” of its €10.8 billion non-binding offer for the Italian telecommunications giant were in progress. (Report Cristina Carlevaro; French version Elena Vardon, edited by Jean-Michel Bélot)