MILAN (Reuters) -Telecom Italia (TIM) said on Friday it would provide KKR with financial data that could help the U.S. fund improve its offer for the phone group’s network grid, as the current bid “does not wholly reflect the value of the asset.”
After a board meeting, TIM said its objective was to facilitate a better offer by the end of March for the ‘NetCo’ unit comprising its landline grid as well as its Sparkle submarine cable business.
TIM, which is aiming to restructure and cut its debt, said it also had concerns about the sustainability of the company that would emerge from a deal.
It said it would make some information available to KKR to help make its proposal more consistent with TIM’s strategy.
KKR’s approach values the unit at some 20 billion euros, including debt plus a 2 billion euro earn out mechanism, sources have said.
The TIM board had not been expected to make a definitive decision after KKR this week extended its offer by four weeks at the behest of the Italian government, which is considering a potential deal with the U.S. fund.
(Reporting by Elvira Pollina, Writing by Keith Weir, editing by Valentina Za)
