By Elvira Pollina and Giuseppe Fonte

MILAN (Reuters) -Italian state investor CDP has known as a board assembly on Sunday which is predicted to approve a long-delayed non-binding provide for the fastened community of former cellphone monopoly Telecom Italia (BIT:), three sources near the matter mentioned.

CDP has teamed up with Australian infrastructure fund Macquarie within the provide for Italy’s most essential telecommunications infrastructure, which might compete with one submitted by U.S. funding agency KKR.

In latest weeks, sources have informed Reuters that CDP and Macquarie have been able to worth TIM’s grid at round 18 billion euros ($19 billion), together with some 6 billion euros of debt.

The joint provide would comprise additionally Telecom Italia’s smaller rival Open Fiber, of which CDP and Macquarie are co-investors, based on the identical sources.

KKR’s proposal, which values TIM’s grid at round 20 billion euros together with debt and a pair of billion euros earnout, has given contemporary impetus to efforts to revamp ailing TIM after extended talks involving the federal government and TIM’s prime two shareholders, CDP and France’s Vivendi (OTC:), yielded no outcomes.

Ceding management of the grid to chop a 25 billion euro debt pile and offload half of TIM’s 40,000 home workers is a key plank of CEO Pietro Labriola’s push to revive the group.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has repeatedly mentioned her authorities desires to win management of TIM’s community infrastructure whereas defending jobs, however inside her administration there isn’t any frequent floor on the best way to attain such a aim.

A proposal from CDP and Macquarie leaves a number of situations open, two authorities officers mentioned, with out elaborating.

Vivendi, whose help is required for any deal to undergo, has set a 31 billion euro price ticket on TIM’s most beneficial asset.

TIM has already mentioned KKR’s proposal “doesn’t totally mirror” the worth of its asset and mentioned it will search an improved provide by the top of this month.

In its non-binding provide for a controlling stake in TIM’s grid, KKR has left the door open to involving a state-run entity as a minority shareholder, nevertheless it opposes CDP enjoying reminiscent of position resulting from antitrust points, the sources mentioned.

Meloni’s predecessors, Mario Draghi and Giuseppe Conte, have each backed plans to mix TIM’s and Open Fiber’s grids however valuations and regulation points thwarted efforts.

($1 = 0.9406 euros)