Telecom Italia set to propose alternative to £9bn KKR takeover swoop
Telecom Italia is gearing up to offer an alternative to US fund KKR’s hefty €10.8bn (£9bn) takeover bid.
The debt-laden former phone monopoly is due to report its annual results, which are likely to show the staunch competition in Italy, as well as the difficult road ahead for the telecom firm.
In January it appointed its fifth executive in six years, Pietro Labriola, and analysts are expecting a 11 per cent annual fall in core profit after leases.
This means the decline will have accelerated to more than 23 per cent in the fourth quarter, according to a company-compiled consensus.
According to Reuters, domestic revenues are also forecast to fall 2.9 per cent in 2021 in the coming results.
KKR already owns 37.5 per cent of TIM’s “last-mile” grid after a 1.8 billion euro investment in 2020.
The Telecom Italia board is due to review the plan and sign off on the results tomorrow.
Telecom Italia have also been in talks with Open Fiber to reach a deal on sharing fibre infrastructure in the more remote parts of Italy, sources suggested last month.
It is understood that this predated the KKR bid.