Telecom Italia SpA is restarting efforts to sell a minority stake in its enterprise unit, potentially valued at more than €6 billion ($6.6 billion), as it seeks to reduce debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
(Bloomberg) — Telecom Italia SpA is restarting efforts to sell a minority stake in its enterprise unit, potentially valued at more than €6 billion ($6.6 billion), as it seeks to reduce debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
Chief Executive Officer Pietro Labriola started sounding out potential investors about a deal earlier this month with invitation letters, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. The move follows a shake-up at the division last March, which serves business customers, aimed at making it easier to carve it out from the rest of the organization.
The sale attempt is part of a broader push by Labriola to slash the company’s €30 billion gross debt — a plan that mainly relies on selling Telecom Italia’s most valuable asset, its landline network. The urgency of this effort has grown over the past year as interest rates rise.
Telecom Italia shares fell as much as 2% in Milan on Thursday, trimming the company’s market value to €5.6 billion. A spokesman for Telecom Italia declined to comment.
The enterprise unit includes the iconic Olivetti brand, cloud-computing activities and Noovle data centers. The business employs roughly 5,000 workers and generated revenue of about €3 billion in 2021.
Telecom Italia rejected a nonbinding bid last year by CVC Capital Partners for a minority stake of its new enterprise services unit because the carrier hoped for a better offer.
Separately, the phone carrier will hold a board meeting on Thursday to discuss offers for its landline network.
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