Italy is close to granting preliminary approval to a multibillion-euro offer for Telecom Italia SpA’s landline network led by its state lender, according to people familiar with the matter.
(Bloomberg) — Italy is close to granting preliminary approval to a multibillion-euro offer for Telecom Italia SpA’s landline network led by its state lender, according to people familiar with the matter.
Acceptance of the bid by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA, also known as CDP, and Australia’s Macquarie Group Ltd. could be announced this month, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. A final determination hasn’t been made, they said.
The new developments on the deal follow the collapse of talks on a possible joint offer for the network by CDP and the US investment firm KKR & Co., said the people. Top officials with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government met on Friday to review the latest details, they said.
Representatives of the government, CDP and Macquarie weren’t available for comment outside of normal business hours.
READ MORE: Italy State Lender, Macquarie to Top KKR Telecom Italia Bid
Italy’s government has been looking to end a stalemate over the sale of the network by backing a single bid, Bloomberg News reported last month. Against that backdrop, CDP could have joined forces with KKR, which has already submitted a preliminary offer.
New York-based KKR owns a minority stake in Telecom Italia’s FiberCop unit, and in 2021 the phone carrier rejected an offer from the US firm to purchase the full business for €10.8 billion ($11.5 billion).
Support from the Rome-based government is crucial for any potential investor in Telecom Italia, a former monopoly that’s under pressure to slash debt. State-controlled CDP owns almost 10% of Telecom Italia and has a majority stake in smaller rival Open Fiber SpA.
Meloni has signaled she considers Telecom Italia’s network a strategic asset that must remain under public oversight. Italy’s government retains the right to veto deals involving assets deemed to be of strategic value, and Rome’s desire to safeguard the 40,000 jobs at the company means any offer without state backing would face significant hurdles.
The CDP-Macquarie offer meshes with the government’s goal of building a single national network, through a merger of Telecom Italia and Open Fiber, and promises to preserve a strategic asset and accelerate the country’s digitalization, the people said.
Telecom Italia Chief Executive Officer Pietro Labriola is seeking to sell the network to cut the company’s net debt of about €20 billion.
–With assistance from Chiara Albanese.
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