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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

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.

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