ROME — Italian communications company TIM said Sunday that its board of directors has approved the binding acquisition offer by the KKR investment company, following months of negotiations.
In a statement, TIM TIT, +0.39% said the approval took the form of a majority vote. The offer assumes that the closing will occur by summer 2024.The board rejected a non-binding offer for Sparkle, TIM’s undersea cable unit. Italian state TV said the government, under the deal with KKR KKR, +4.04%, would be a significant shareholder. Corriere della Sera said the finance ministry would hold about a 20% stake. The operation will permit TIM to reduce nearly half of its more than 30 billion euros in debt and reduce the number of employees, the Milan daily said.
The binding offer values NetCo — TIM’s fixed network assets but excluding Sparkle — at 18.8 billion euros , said a statement from TIM.