Italian PM not opposed to sale of Telecom Italia’s TIM to foreign investors

MILAN (AFX) – Prime Minister Romano Prodi said he would not oppose a sale of Telecom Italia SpA’s mobile telephony unit Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM) to foreign investors.

‘I would not oppose a sale of TIM abroad, nor do I have the legal means to do it,’ Prodi was quoted as saying by daily Finanza & Mercati.

The paper also said that a group of five or six private equity funds led by Carlyle would be ready to offer 30 bln eur for TIM, in a transaction financed with 23 bln of debt.

The Carlyle group might include Permira, Apax, Blackstone, Kkr, Tpg and Templeton, it said.

Last week, Telecom Italia unveiled plans to separate TIM and its fixed-line network to focus on media and broadband services, fuelling speculation of possible asset sales.

Source- http://www.forbes.com

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