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☆ Telecom Italia CEO defends grid deal as top investor threatens legal challenge
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Telecom Italia (TIM) logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, May 3, 2022. CEO Pietro Labriola's comments follow criticism from top shareholder Vivendi (VIV.PA), which has threatened a legal challenge to the plan to sell the grid, saying it considered the decision to proceed without a shareholder vote as "unlawful". "It is not possible under the Italian law to transfer such competence to the shareholders," the CEO added. According to Vivendi, the sale required an extraordinary shareholder vote because it would change TIM's corporate purpose and therefore required a change to the company bylaws. Labriola said the deal is "no more than the strict execution of the delayering (business) plan" unanimously approved in 2022.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Pietro Labriola's, Labriola, Agostino Nuzzolo, Elvira Pollina, Giulia Segreti, Jan Harvey Organizations: Telecom Italia, REUTERS, Rights, Telecom, KKR, Vivendi, TIM, Thomson Locations: Milan

☆ Telecom Italia core profit up 9% as grid share deal helps domestic sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That is ahead of a 1.37 billion euro company-provided analyst consensus. Total domestic sales rose 2.2% in the quarter to 2.98 billion euros, also above forecasts. The company confirmed its 2023 financial targets, including a stabilisation of core earnings and service revenue in Italy. In the nine months, service revenue at TIM's domestic operations fell 1.3% to 7.9 billion euros. TIM's net financial debt stood at 26.3 billion euros as of Sept. 30, marginally up from the end of the previous quarter.

Persons: Stefano Rellandini, Giorgia, Pietro Labriola, Elvira Pollina, Valentina Za Organizations: Telecom Italia, REUTERS, Vivendi, Italy's, KKR, TIM, Thomson Locations: Rozzano, Milan, Italy, TIM's

☆ Telecom Italia gives green light to KKR's grid bid, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Elvira Pollina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Telecom Italia (TIM) logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, May 3, 2022. The price tag can reach 22 billion euros when including some future payments were a long-awaited combination of TIM's grid with that of state-backed fibre optic rival Open Fiber materialise, the first two sources said. Italian infrastructure fund F2i is also preparing to take a stake in the grid to bring the holding in Italian hands to 30%-35%. With its 24% TIM stake, Vivendi has warned TIM's board it is ready to bring a legal challenge to the sale after criticising its approval process, documents seen by Reuters showed. ($1 = 0.9321 euros)Reporting by Elvira Pollina; Editing by Valentina ZaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Giorgia, Pietro Labriola's, Merlyn Advisors, Stefano Siragusa, Elvira Pollina, Valentina Za Organizations: Telecom Italia, REUTERS, Vivendi, Sunday, KKR, Reuters, TIM, Treasury, Thomson Locations: MILAN, London

☆ Telecom Italia approves KKR's $20 billion grid bid in blow for Vivendi
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Elvira Pollina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Telecom Italia (TIM) logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, May 3, 2022. The board started a review of KKR's offer on Friday, approving it on Sunday, TIM said. The sale's 18.8 billion euro price tag, including debt, could reach 22 billion euros if certain conditions are met, TIM said. TIM said it would not put the board's decision to a shareholder vote, in a setback for leading shareholder VivendI (VIV.PA). Vivendi, which owns 24% of TIM, has been seeking a higher price and questioned the sustainability of the business left behind.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Giorgia, Pietro Labriola's, Labriola, Merlyn Advisors, Merlyn, Elvira Pollina, Valentina Za, Will Dunham Organizations: Telecom Italia, REUTERS, TIM, Vivendi, Sunday, KKR, European Union, Treasury, VivendI, Thomson Locations: Italy, MILAN, London

☆ Explainer: What's at stake in Telecom Italia grid deal?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TIM is selling NetCo, a venture comprising both TIM's domestic fixed-access network and international wholesale telecoms operator Sparkle. TIM's landline network covers nearly 89% of the country's households and its fibre cable stretches over 23 million kilometres across the country. Beyond TIM's grid, a second major network is being rolled out by Open Fiber, a company controlled by CDP and Australian investment group Macquarie. There had long been talks of trying to combine TIM's network with Open Fiber but competition concerns have hampered such a deal so far. With its 24% voting stake, Vivendi could throw a spanner in the works at any TIM shareholder meeting to vote on a deal or challenge it in the courts.

Persons: Yara, Pietro Labriola's, Giorgia, Elvira Pollina, Keith Weir, Anil D'Silva Organizations: REUTERS, KKR, Italian Treasury, Telecom Italia's, TIM, WHO, Vivendi, Treasury, Trade, Macquarie, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy

☆ Telecom Italia's quarterly core profit rises as domestic revenues edge up
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

which was above a company-provided analyst consensus of 1.3 billion euros. TIM's net financial debt rose to 26.1 billion euros ($28.57 billion) as of June 30 from 24.6 billion euros in the same period last year. The company confirmed its financial targets for 2023, including a stabilisation of service revenue and core earnings at the domestic level. The government has special vetting powers on any deal involving TIM's grid and wants to join KKR's bid to keep a strategic oversight on Italy's main telecommunications infrastructure. The grid sale has faced heavy reservations from TIM's top investor, Vivendi (VIV.PA), which is demanding a higher valuation to back a deal.

Persons: Yara, Pietro Labriola, Giorgia, Elvira Pollina, Urvi, Chris Reese, Leslie Adler Organizations: REUTERS, Telecom Italia, KKR, TIM, U.S, TIM's, Vivendi, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy, Milan, Bengaluru

☆ Telecom Italia grid talks leave Vivendi in a bind
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) is moving ahead with the long-awaited sale of its grid. The 5.5 billion euro Italian group has entered exclusive talks with private equity powerhouse KKR (KKR.N), and wants a binding offer by Sept. 30. Vivendi however is valuing the NetCo at 31 billion euros. A 26 billion euro price tag would imply an EV/EBITDA multiple of 14 times. That’s almost three times that of Vodafone (VOD.L) or Telefonica (TEF.MC), assuming the grid’s EBITDA at 1.8 billion euros, according to Barclays estimates.

Persons: Pietro Labriola, Il Messaggero, That’s, – Labriola, Pamela Barbaglia, Pierre Briancon, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Telecom, KKR, Vivendi, hardball, Telecom Italia’s, Vodafone, Telefonica, Barclays, Twitter, Intel, Thomson Locations: Rome, York, French

☆ Telecom Italia sounds out buyers for stake in enterprise unit -Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 22 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) is restarting its efforts to sell a minority stake in its enterprise unit, potentially valued at more than 6 billion euros ($6.6 billion), Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Telecom Italia did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment. The company set out to launch a sale process for a minority stake in its enterprise service arm last year. The enterprise business unit combines the phone group's connectivity services as well as cloud, cybersecurity and internet of things (IoT)operations. The telecom company rejected a nonbinding bid by CVC Capital Partners last year for a stake of up to 49% in its enterprise business.

Persons: Pietro Labriola, Bloomberg, Akanksha, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Telecom, Bloomberg, Telecom Italia, CVC Capital Partners, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

KKR's approach incorporates a value for TIM's fixed landline network that could top 23 billion euros ($25 billion). TIM plans to analyse in depth the terms to be proposed by KKR, one of the sources said. Having already invested 1.8 billion euros in the grid, KKR has bid for a controlling stake in a unit comprising TIM's entire domestic fixed access network and submarine cable business Sparkle. KKR is also ready to let TIM retain a stake in its landline network. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's administration will have a say on any deal as Rome can use its "golden powers" rules to set conditions or block bids for strategic assets such as TIM's network.

Persons: Pietro Labriola's, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Giorgia Meloni's, Giuseppe Fonte, Elvira Pollina, Valentina Za, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: KKR, TIM, Telecom Italia, Macquarie, Reuters, Vivendi, Treasury, Thomson Locations: ROME, Rome

☆ Telecom Italia CEO confident grid sale will go well
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, June 15 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia's (TLIT.MI) (TIM) plan to sell its prized landline grid asset to reduce debt "should and can go well", CEO Pietro Labriola said on Thursday, as sources said bids have not met top shareholder Vivendi's (VIV.PA) expectations. U.S. fund KKR (KKR.N) and a rival consortium comprising state lender CDP and Australian fund Macquarie (MQG.AX) presented revised bids for the grid last week. Two sources with knowledge of the matter have told Reuters that KKR's offer is the most generous at around 23 billion euros ($24.93 billion) overall, still short of the more than 30 billion euros sources close to Vivendi have said it wants. Labriola said there was also a back-up plan to improve TIM's prospects, should the asset sale not be possible. TIM's financial debt stood at almost 26 billion euros at the end of the first quarter of 2023.

Persons: Pietro Labriola, Labriola, Alvise Armellini, Gavin Jones, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Telecom, KKR, Macquarie, Reuters, Vivendi, Thomson Locations: Rome

MILAN, June 10 (Reuters) - U.S. fund KKR (KKR.N) strengthened its lead in the race to secure the landline grid of Telecom Italia (TIM) (TLIT.MI) when it offered to raise its bid by up to or over 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion), two people with knowledge of the matter said. The value of KKR's offer could top 23 billion euros overall, widening the gap with a rival proposal by a consortium comprising Italian state lender CDP and Australian fund Macquarie (MQG.AX). The improved offer would still be short of a valuation of more than 30 billion euros for the grid sought by TIM's top shareholder Vivendi (VIV.PA). Sources had previously told Reuters that both Labriola and some leading Italian officials already saw KKR as the strongest bidder prior to Friday's proposal. TIM's board meets to review the proposals on June 19 and is expected to take a decision on June 22.

Persons: Pietro Labriola's, Labriola, KKR, Macquarie, Akriti Sharma, Elvira Pollina, Marguerita Choy, Leslie Adler Organizations: MILAN, KKR, Telecom Italia, Macquarie, Vivendi, Reuters, TIM, Thomson Locations: ServCo, NetCo, Bengaluru, Milan

MILAN, June 9 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia (TIM) (TLIT.MI) said on Friday it received two new offers for its landline grid as Italy's biggest telecoms group seeks to resolve the impasse over the sale of its main asset. U.S. fund KKR (KKR.N) and a rival consortium comprising state lender CDP and Australian fund Macquarie (MQG.AX) separately submitted bids for Telecom Italia's network, according to a statement. Debt-crippled TIM had sought improved offers for its most valuable asset after having assessed as not yet adequate the proposals received in May. The antitrust problems are linked to CDP and Macquarie's owning fibre optic wholesale provider Open Fiber. Treasury-owned CDP is the second-largest investor in TIM after France's Vivendi (VIV.PA) with a 10% stake.

Persons: Pietro Labriola's, Akriti Sharma, Elvira Pollina, Marguerita Choy, Leslie Adler Organizations: MILAN, Telecom Italia, KKR, Macquarie, Telecom Italia's, TIM, Treasury, France's Vivendi, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru, Milan

☆ KKR, CDP rival consortium readying new bids for Telecom Italia's grid
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Elvira Pollina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, June 8 (Reuters) - U.S. fund KKR (KKR.N) and a rival consortium comprising state lender CDP and Australian fund Macquarie (MQG.AX) are readying to submit slightly improved bids for Telecom Italia's (TIM) (TLIT.MI) network ahead of a June 9 deadline, sources said. KKR and the CDP-led consortium offered 21 billion euros($22.5 billion) and 19 billion euros, respectively, for TIM's domestic landline grid and its submarine unit Sparkle, sources have previously said. Their approach for TIM's grid is part of a plan to combine Open Fiber with the former phone monopoly infrastructure, which has been complicated by antitrust issues. People familiar with the matter told Reuters last month the Treasury CDP joining forces with KKR for TIM's grid, with one source saying government officials were pushing for CDP to drop its separate proposal. But Macquarie is raising about a possible alliance between CDP and KKR, other sources said at the time, citing clauses in the Open Fiber shareholder pact.

Persons: Macquarie, Pietro Labriola's, Elvira Pollina, David Evans Organizations: MILAN, KKR, Macquarie, Telecom Italia's, TIM, Reuters, Treasury, Vivendi, Telecom, Thomson

☆ Telecom Italia urged to call board meeting to name Vivendi candidate - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, May 20 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia (TIM) (TLIT.MI) is being urged by some directors to hold an extraordinary board meeting to name a candidate sponsored by top investor Vivendi (VIV.PA) to fill a vacant director seat at the former phone monopoly, two sources said on Saturday. One of the sources said Telecom Italia's nomination committee will start a review of Carta's candidacy on Monday, adding no board meeting has yet been called. The board seat has been vacant since January when Vivendi Chief Executive Arnaud de Puyfontaine quit the board asking for a new governance set-up. In their latest bids, KKR and the rival consortium offered 21 billion euros ($23.12 billion) and 19 billion euros, respectively, for the asset, source have previously said, some 10 billion euros below Vivendi's price tag to back a deal. TIM directors are expected to discuss the bids at an ordinary board meeting due on June 22.

☆ Telecom Italia urged to call board meeting to name Vivendi candidate
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, May 15 (Reuters) - Australian fund Macquarie (MQG.AX) is raising legal hurdles over a plan backed by Italy's Treasury for state lender CDP to join forces with U.S. fund KKR (KKR.N) to buy Telecom Italia's (TIM) landline grid, three sources said. People familiar with the matter told Reuters this month the Treasury would welcome CDP joining forces with KKR for TIM's prized grid, with one source saying government officials ware pushing for CDP to drop its separate proposal. But Macquarie is raising legal issues about a possible alliance between CDP and KKR, three sources close to the matter told Reuters late on Monday. CDP and Macquarie are co-investors in Open Fiber, a smaller rival to TIM. One of them said Macquarie was aiming to improve its offer with CDP ahead of next month's deadline.

☆ Italy's TIM seeks final offer for grid by June 9
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Elvira Pollina Jubabu | Elvira Pollina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TIM directors gathered on Thursday to draw a response to rival non binding approaches for its landline grid by KKR (KKR.N) and a consortium comprising state lender CDP and fund Macquarie (MQG.AX), worth 21 billion euros ($23 billion) and 19.3 billion euros, respectively. In a statement after the board meeting, TIM said it deemed the bids "not yet adequate", adding at least one of the bidders had expressed its readiness to improve its non-binding offer. Three sources with knowledge of the matter said KKR was willing to work further on its bid's terms. Italian last month said her right-wing administration would not intervene at this stage in the network sale process, although it is on alert to avoid any risk to the national interest. ($1 = 0.9081 euros)Reporting by Elvira Pollina and Juby Babu, Editing by Franklin PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ TIM to seek new round of higher bids for landline grid - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MILAN, April 28 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia (TIM)'s (TLIT.MI) CEO Pietro Labriola is expected to propose to directors to seek further improvements of multi-billion bids for the company's landline grid at a board meeting on May 4, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. Rival suitors KKR (KKR.N) and a consortium comprising Italian state lender CDP and Macquarie (MQG.AX) have offered 21 billion euros ($23.2 billion) and 19.3 billion euros respectively, each raising their initial offers by one billion euros. ($1 = 0.9057 euros)Reporting by Milan newsroom; writing by Giulio Piovaccari, editing by Alvise ArmelliniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ TIM to ask CDP-Macquarie to raise network bid, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The joint offer values TIM's grid at some 18 billion euros ($19.3 billion), including debt, sources have said. KKR, which already owns a minority stake in TIM's grid, offered up to 20 billion euros, including a 2 billion euros earnout mechanism - a valuation which was also billed as too low by TIM last month. The TIM board will meet on Wednesday to draw up a response to the CDP-Macquarie preliminary bid. Vivendi has indicated a price tag of 31 billion euros to back selling the grid. TIM itself has indicated a valuation of 25 billion euros, sources told Reuters last year.

CDP has teamed up with Australian infrastructure fund Macquarie (MQG.AX) to bid for Italy's most important telecommunications infrastructure, for which U.S. investment firm KKR (KKR.N) has already presented an offer. One of the people familiar with the matter said that CDP board members were set to meet at 3 p.m. (1400 GMT) to approve the offer. In recent weeks, sources have told Reuters that CDP-Macquarie and KKR have both set an 18-billion-euro ($19 billion) enterprise value for TIM's grid. CDP's offer would also involve TIM's smaller fibre-optic network rival Open Fiber, which is owned by CDP and Macquarie and would be folded into TIM's grid down the road. Under Italian rules, Rome has the power to block unwanted interest for assets of strategic importance such as TIM's grid.

CDP has teamed up with Australian infrastructure fund Macquarie (MQG.AX) in the offer for Italy's most important telecommunications infrastructure, which would compete with one submitted by U.S. investment firm KKR (KKR.N). In recent weeks, sources have told Reuters that CDP and Macquarie were ready to value TIM's grid at around 18 billion euros ($19 billion), including some 6 billion euros of debt. An offer from CDP and Macquarie leaves several scenarios open, two government officials said, without elaborating. Besides owning 10% of TIM, CDP controls fibre optic rival Open Fiber. Meloni's predecessors, Mario Draghi and Giuseppe Conte, have both backed plans to combine TIM's and Open Fiber's grids.

☆ European telecoms sector faces 'perfect storm', Telecom Italia CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Telecom firms in Europe are facing unsustainable market trends linked to shrinking retail prices, booming data consumption and "unprecedented" investment needed to upgrade networks, the head of Telecom Italia (TIM) (TLIT.MI) said on Tuesday. "We are facing a perfect storm", Pietro Labriola said at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, citing also slowing economic growth and rising interest rates. The executive called on institutions and regulators for urgent intervention to make Big Tech firms help fund broadband and 5G roll-out and to favour market consolidation. In response to growing challenges, in Labriola's view, telecom firms need to separate infrastructure operations from services, each focusing on their specific market. Reporting by Elvira Pollina; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Meloni's administration wants to secure public control of TIM's grid, but there is no common ground within the government on how to achieve this. KKR, which has already invested 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion)on TIM's grid, has now bid for a controlling stake in a unit comprising the entire TIM's domestic fixed access network and submarine cable business Sparkle. Ceding control of TIM's grid is a main plank of TIM Chief Executive Pietro Labriola's efforts to cut the former phone monopoly's 25 billion euro net debt and revamp its struggling domestic business. TIM's confirmed its board would meet on Friday to discuss KKR's offer and "take appropriate decisions". CDP's potential offer has been hampered in part by regulatory concerns given it is the main investor in TIM's fibre-optic rival Open Fiber, people familiar with the matter said.

☆ A new era of telecoms M&A is coming, says Telecom Italia's CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailA new era of telecoms M&A is coming, says Telecom Italia's CEOPietro Labriola, CEO of Telecom Italia, speaks to CNBC about the Italian telecommunications company's results.

☆ Improving Italian business cushions TIM's profit decline
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Elvira Pollina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Italy's biggest phone group said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) including lease costs fell 10.6% to 5 billion euros in the 12 months to Dec. 31. That compares with a "low-teens" decrease targeted by TIM and was in line with an average analyst forecast of 4.988 billion euros, according to a company-provided consensus. Total group service revenue rose by 1.3% to 14.6 billion euros, exceeding analysts expectations for a rise of 0.6% and the company's target for a 'low single digit decrease'. Net financial debt stood at 25.4 billion euros as of Dec. 31, up by 3.2 billion euros from the year before. TIM is expected later on Tuesday to issue an update of its business plan for 2023-2025, including new financial targets.

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