MILAN, Sept 10 (Askume) – Telecom Italia (TIM) (TLIT.MI) has acquired Italy’s BT.Bt.L has submitted a non-binding bid for the company’s remaining operations, according to people familiar with the matter , seeking about 100 million euros ($110 million) from sellers to take over the assets , two sources told Askume.
BT shut down its operations in Italy in 2017 after its national unit was embroiled in a false accounting scandal that resulted in 530 million pounds ($690 million) being debited from its accounts.
BT’s Italian assets, which include four data centres and a backbone network, initially attracted the interest of a number of investors, including Italian fibre optic operator Retailit and Milan-based private equity firm Nextalia, the sources said.
Binding bids are expected later this month, one of the people said.
TIM, BT, Retailit and Nextalia declined to comment.
Last year, BT sold part of its Italian business to TIM, and most of it to Retailit.
The unit currently has around 370 full-time employees and long-term contracts with large corporate clients, with revenues of around €300 million last year.
The deal to acquire BT’s Italian business coincides with TIM’s efforts to strengthen its valuable domestic enterprise business, which provides connectivity, cloud and cybersecurity services to large corporate and public administration customers.
(1 USD = 0.9070 EUR)
($1 = 0.7656 British pounds)
