by Elvira Pollina and Giuseppe Fonte
MILAN (Reuters) – Telecom Italia (TIM) is exploring investor interest in buying some of its assets, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, as the Italian government seeks solutions to turn around the telecoms group , heavily in debt.
The government of Giorgia Meloni announced in November that it was trying to identify the best possible options for the group before the end of the year, thus forcing the public financial group CDP to suspend its proposed offer on the network. fixed from TIM.
Encouraged by the previous government of Mario Draghi, this plan was part of a larger project to combine the network activities of TIM with those of its competitor Open Fiber in order to create a single broadband network controlled by the CDP.
It was also a central point in the strategy of the operator’s general manager, Pietro Labriola, to split TIM into several divisions and reduce its debt.
Three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Pietro Labriola recently worked with US fund KKR, which already has a stake in TIM’s “last mile” network and recently renewed interest after trying to buy the whole group this year.
The operator has also been in contact with other potential investors, including French telecommunications group Iliad and Poste Italiane and at least two suitors have expressed interest in TIM SA, the group’s Brazilian subsidiary, the sources said.
The sale of this subsidiary, which generates approximately 30% of the group’s profits, does not however convince the managing director, for whom the operation could be dangerous for TIM’s credit rating, unless it is proposed to a higher value, the sources said.
Telecom Italia, KKR, Poste Italiane and Iliad all declined to comment.
(Report Elvira Pollina; French version Diana Mandiá, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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