KKR partner says fund is analysing FiberCop-Open Fiber tie-up

MILAN, April 1 (Reuters) - U.S. fund KKR, the main shareholder in Italian fibre optic grid operator FiberCop, is analysing a possible tie-up with Italy's Open Fiber as part of a broader government plan to create a single broadband network, KKR Partner Alberto Signori said at conference in Milan on Tuesday.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Under the terms of Telecom Italia's (TIM) sale of FiberCop to a consortium led by KKR, any combination between FiberCop and Open Fiber before the end of 2026 would trigger an extra payment of about 2.5 billion euros ($2.70 billion) for TIM.

CONTEXT FiberCop was spun-off from TIM in July 2024, when a KKR-led consortium completed an 18.8-billion-euro buyout of the unit. Open Fiber, tasked by Italy's government almost a decade ago with rolling out fibre optic cables across the country, is 60% owned by state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, with the rest in the hands of Australian fund Macquarie.

KEY QUOTES "There is talk about it, there is a willingness on the part of the Italian government to see if there are the conditions to do it, and make savings on investments", Alberto Signori, a partner at KKR's Infrastructure team, said when asked about a possible integration of FiberCop with Open Fiber. "As FiberCop shareholders we are analysing to see if conditions are there to do it.", he added. ($1 = 0.9257 euros) (Reporting by Elvira Pollina, Writing by Philippe Leroy Beaulieu)