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* TIM buys BT ops serving public administration, SMEs
* BT to keep presence in Italy focusing on big business
(Add detail, background)
MILAN, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia (TIM) has
signed a preliminary agreement with BT to buy two of the
British telecoms group's business units in Italy, the companies
said in a joint statement on Thursday.
The two units serve Italy's public administration and small
and medium businesses and had combined revenues of about 90
million euros ($109 million) in the fiscal year ending in March,
less than 20% of BT's annual sales in the country.
BT, Britain's biggest fixed-line and mobile telecoms firm,
will continue to operate in Italy serving some 400 multinational
businesses and big companies, under a broader overhaul of its
global operations.
Under the planned deal, TIM will expand its connectivity
services to boost ongoing works to digitalise Italy's public
administration and diversify its offer of cloud solutions for
small and medium firms, the former phone monopolist said.
The transaction, whose value was not disclosed, is expected
to be completed by the end of the first quarter of next year,
subjected to antitrust clearance and consultation with trade
unions.
BT's Italian unit was hit by an accounting scandal which
required the company to take a 530 million pound ($705 million)
charge in early 2017.
The group has some 900 workers in Italy, with 140 employed
in the units involved in the deal, a trade union official said.
($1 = 0.8261 euros)
($1 = 0.7519 pounds)
(Reporting by Elvira Pollina, editing by Mark Potter)
