(Bloomberg) -- Italy has made a binding offer for Telecom Italia SpA’s Sparkle submarine cable unit, an asset the administration of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni considers strategic.
The country’s Finance Ministry made the bid along with Retelit SpA, which is controlled by Spain’s Asterion Industrial Partners.
The offer for Sparkle is valued at €700 million ($733 million) and is valid to Jan. 27, the ministry said.
The Italian carrier said in a statement Thursday that it will evaluate the offer as soon as possible.
The subsea cable unit operates over 600,000 kilometers of cables connecting countries including Israel and the US. Subsea cables are one of the core pieces of fiber infrastructure facilitating global data flow, including sensitive information.
After completing the sale of Telecom Italia’s fixed-line network to KKR & Co. Inc., Chief Executive Officer Pietro Labriola is now looking for ways to play an active role in the consolidation of Italy’s fragmented telecoms market.
(Updates with Telecom Italia response in fourth paragraph.)
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