(Bloomberg) -- Telecom Italia SpA is restarting efforts to sell a minority stake in its enterprise unit, potentially valued at more than €6 billion ($6.6 billion), as it seeks ways to reduce debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
Chief Executive Officer Pietro Labriola started sounding out possible investors about a deal earlier this month by sending invitation letters, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. The move follows a shake-up last March at the division, which serves business customers, that was aimed at making it easier to carve out from the rest of the organization.
The sale attempt is part of a broader push by Labriola to slash the company's €30 billion gross debt — a plan that mainly relies on selling Telecom Italia's most valuable asset, its landline network. The urgency of this effort has grown over the past year as interest rates rise.
A spokesman for Telecom Italia wasn't immediately available after business hours.
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The enterprise unit includes the iconic Olivetti brand, cloud-computing activities and Noovle data centers. The business employs roughly 5,000 workers and generated revenue of about €3 billion in 2021.
Telecom Italia rejected a nonbinding bid last year by CVC Capital Partners for a minority stake of its new enterprise services unit because the carrier hoped for a better offer.
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