KKR Said to Make Takeover Proposal for All of Telecom Italia
- Telecom Italia board to meet Sunday to review KKR proposal
- Vivendi’s pressuring Telecom Italia CEO after a profit warning
The U.S. private equity giant KKR & Co. has made a proposal to buy all of Telecom Italia SpA, a move aimed at revamping the troubled Italian phone company that has shed about half its market value in the past five years, according to people familiar with the matter.
KKR plans to separate out the company’s network business in order to get a solid revenue stream from regulated tariffs, the people said, asking not to be identified because the plan isn’t public. Telecom Italia’s board, chaired by Salvatore Rossi, will meet Sunday afternoon to review a preliminary statement of interest from KKR, the people said. The company’s multi-billion euro network, its most valuable asset, is the main focus of KKR, they added. Shares have dropped more than 8% this year to leave the company with a market value of 7.4 billion euros ($8.4 billion).