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Abu Dhabi fund may back Telecom Italia’s network bid

By Pramod Kumar
The discussions seek to combine the 30,000 telecommunication tower assets owned by Ooredoo, Zain and TASC into a jointly owned independent tower firm Reuters
The discussions seek to combine the 30,000 telecommunication tower assets owned by Ooredoo, Zain and TASC into a jointly owned independent tower firm

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the UAE’s largest sovereign wealth fund, is in talks with US private equity firm KKR & Co for a joint bid of €23 billion ($25 billion) for Telecom Italia SpA’s landline network.

The Abu Dhabi fund will provide equity support for the private equity firm’s bid, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed informed sources. 

ADIA may invest directly in the network or take a stake in the KKR fund, which will house the company, they added.

ADIA’s backing of the deal aligns with its plan to boost spending across regions and asset classes. It previously joined KKR in investing in Telecom Italia’s fibre carrier. 

Last month ADIA agreed to invest $6 billion in a new buyout fund launched by French private equity firm Ardian.

In October 2022, the world’s fifth-largest sovereign wealth fund revealed in its 2021 annual review that it was upping its exposure to private credit to boost its returns.

ADIA committed to invest A$700 million ($452.1 million) in August through Australian alternative real estate investment manager Qualitas. 

The UAE fund had invested around $7.3 billion private credit as of 2020, according to Global SWF.  

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