Italy’s State lender and Macquarie Group Ltd. are prepared to present a multi-billion-euro offer for Telecom Italia SpA’s landline network as soon as Monday, according to people familiar with the matter.
(Bloomberg) — Italy’s State lender and Macquarie Group Ltd. are prepared to present a multi-billion-euro offer for Telecom Italia SpA’s landline network as soon as Monday, according to people familiar with the matter.
Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA, also known as CDP, has called a board meeting for Sunday to do a final review of the offer, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.
The developments follow the collapse of talks on a possible joint offer for the network by CDP and the US investment firm KKR & Co. Representatives for CDP and Macquarie declined to comment, while a representatives of the government wasn’t immediately available for comment.
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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