TIM Gets Rival Bid From Italian Government for Cable Business

By Nina Kienle

Telecom Italia has received a bid from the Italian government for its submarine-cable unit Sparkle, a move that could spell an end to negotiations with private-equity firm KKR over the business.

The Italian telecommunications company said late Wednesday that the offer includes an option for TIM to retain a minority stake in Sparkle, but didn't set out the financial terms of the bid.

TIM had previously been in talks with KKR over a sale of Sparkle, but rejected an initial bid as too low. It accepted a bid of more than $20 billion from the group for its other fixed-line assets as it looks to shed some of its heavy debts.

In December, TIM granted KKR an extension to its deadline to submit a fresh offer for the Sparkle unit, moving it to the end of January. The company didn't clarify whether the new bid from the Italian government means talks with KKR will end, and didn't immediately respond to a request for confirmation. KKR also didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The government offer, made via the finance ministry, is valid for 15 days and will be reviewed at a meeting of the board of directors on Wednesday, TIM said.

Write to Nina Kienle at nina.kienle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 01, 2024 02:22 ET (07:22 GMT)

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