MILAN : Telecom Italia is working with banks to draw up a new business plan that could involve spinning off assets as it studies options to help assess a buyout offer from U.S. fund KKR, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
But a power vacuum prompted by the ousting of Chief Executive Luigi Gubitosi following a series of profit warnings last year has delayed the group's response to KKR, which has requested access to company data before making a formal bid. The new three-year plan, which will be drawn up on a standalone basis, will consider a series of options to boost value such as spinning off assets including its strategic network business, the sources said.
TIM's fixed line network is the group's most prized asset and there have been calls from its No. 2 shareholder, state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti , to rekindle a stalled plan to merge the network with fibre optic rival Open Fiber to boost returns and avoid duplicating investments.On the KKR offer, CDP is working with Credit Suisse, Italy's Treasury with Lazard and Vivendi with Rothschild, the sources said.