Italy views an offer from private equity fund KKR & Co. for Telecom Italia SpA as too low, people familiar with the matter said, as the government led by Mario Draghi reviews plans to create a single national ultra-broadband network.
State-backed lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA, which owns 10% of Telecom Italia, currently has a value of 82 euro cents per share on its books for the holding, and would be reluctant to accept KKR’s 50.5 cent per share offer, the people said, asking not to be named discussing confidential matters.
Telecom Italia’s board is scheduled to meet Feb. 14 to discuss an in-house plan, and it could also review KKR’s 10.8 billion-euro ($12.4 billion) bid, the people said. Bloomberg reported late last year that KKR has considered raising its offer price for Telecom Italia to around 70 cents to 80 cents per share to seal a deal.
Read more: Yahoo News
