Roundup: KKR investor wants to acquire Italian telecom group TIM | 11/21/21

ROM (dpa-AFX) – American financial investor KKR (KKRCo) wants to acquire Italian telecom operator TIM (Telecom Italia). The listed investment firm, which is also the largest shareholder in the Axel Springer media group, has registered a buying interest with the Italians. And TIM – the former Telecom Italia – said this was not “binding and indicative” after an extraordinary meeting on Sunday night.

KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) aims to acquire more than 100 percent of the shares in the former monopoly and then take the company off the stock exchange. The investor is offering €0.505 per share, making the bid nearly €11 billion difficult. On Friday, TIM’s stock moved out of trading on the Milan Stock Exchange at €0.3465.

TIM is under pressure in Italy: recent quarterly results have been disappointing, and a deal with live-streaming platform DAZN to broadcast Serie A football matches this season has not brought hopeful growth in subscribers.

As the main shareholder, French media group Vivendi is already calling for changes in strategy, the media reported. It was recently speculated that Vivendi was discussing the takeover of TIM. There was also talk of interest from CVC and Advent investors.

KKR already owns a stake in TIM’s FibreCop, a company that is supposed to supply fiber-optic cables to Italian communities.

In Italy, news of the KKR campaign, first reported by Corriere della Sera, caused an uproar. Some politicians asked the government to look into the situation.

The investor initially wants a group audit, and an audit is scheduled for about four weeks, TIM announced. In addition, an assessment by the authorities is expected; A law called “Golden Power”, for example, allows the government to block foreign investor deals in strategic areas of the state. / msw/DP/men