MILAN (Reuters) – U.S. fund KKR has presented a non-binding proposal to buy Telecom Italia, valuing Italy’s former phone monopolist at 10.8 billion euros ($12 billion) excluding debt.
Telecom Italia, Europe’s sixth largest telecoms group, offers fixed and mobile broadband services to wholesale and retail customers. Here is a snapshot of its main assets and operations.
DOMESTIC BUSINESSES
* FIXED NETWORK ASSETS – Telecom Italia’s fixed network stretches from the backbone grid to the so-called access grid across Italy. Last year, Telecom Italia carved out its last-mile grid running from street cabinets to homes into a separate unit called FiberCop, selling a 37.5% stake to KKR.
* MOBILE ASSETS – Telecom Italia and Vodafone jointly control Italy’s biggest mobile tower company, INWIT, which operates 22,000 towers across Italy.
* NOOVLE – The group’s cloud company operates a network of 17 data centres across Italy and will build six new top tier data centre facilities under a strategic partnership with Google.
* TIM VISION – Telecom Italia’s video platform aggregates several streaming services such as sport app DAZN, which secured the rights to screen Italy’s top flight matches in its domestic market.
* TELSY – The software unit develops cybersecurity services and provides encrypted communications technology to customers, including the public administration.
* OLIVETTI – The group’s digital factory focuses on business such as big data, internet of things and retail payments.
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSES
* BRAZILIAN OPERATIONS – Brazilian wireless carrier TIM SA operates 51.6 million mobile lines in the country. Telecom Italia controls the company through a 67% stake.
* SPARKLE – The international wholesale telecoms operator, entirely owned by Telecom Italia, manages fibre cables that stretch over 500,000 kilometres. Its submarine network transmits information between countries in Europe, the Mediterranean and the Americas.
($1 = 0.8869 euros)
(Reporting by Elvira Pollina; Editing by Mark Potter)
