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Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is in discussions to join US investor KKR & Co in a €23 billion ($25 billion) bid for Telecom Italia SpA’s landline network.
A Bloomberg report citing sources with knowledge of the matter said the sovereign investor is in advanced talks to provide equity support for the bid.
ADIA may invest directly in the network or take a stake in the KKR fund that will house the company, Bloomberg reported.
No final decisions have been taken on if or how ADIA will participate, the report said.
The Italian telecoms company, which was formerly a monopoly, is selling the landline network to reduce its debt pile.
KKR raised its bid last month, according to Reuters reports, to €23 billion but it is still short of the valuation of €30 billion sought by Telecom Italia’s top shareholder Vivendi.
(Reporting by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Brinda Darasha)
