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BT Group’s Italian operations have drawn interest from a number of Italy’s top telecoms players
Telecom Italia has enquired about the possibility of obtaining BT Group’s Italian assets, according to a report by Bloomberg.
BT’s Italian unit, which was the source of a much-publicised accounting scandal in 2017, generated revenues of around €390 million last year.
BT’s operations in Italy have also attracted interest from Wind Tre and Retelit, thanks to its ongoing relationships with key Italian customers like Fiat and Italian oil and gas firm Eni, the Bloomberg report said.
In October last year, BT Group appointed former Worldpay CEO Philip Jansen as its chief executive officer. Jansen has already said that BT Group needs to streamline its operations and refocus on its core competencies. The decision of whether to divest the company’s Italian operations could be the first major decision of Jensen’s tenure, as he looks to resurrect the company’s share price.
BT Group has already revealed plans to scale down its international operations, stating that it intends to reduce the size of its international client base by around 80 per cent.
BT Global Services’ CEO, Bas Berger, told the Financial Times in November that the company planned to radically cut its international client base from 5,200 to just 800 – focussing only on the largest and most profitable clients and transforming the unit into a leaner, more agile business.
"In September, Global Services held a business briefing which set out a clear path to transform the business. This includes repositioning around its core markets and multi-national customers; building value in strategically selected areas of growth where Global Services can add real value and differentiate on service, including cloud and network infrastructure, cloud collaboration and cyber security; and, moving to lower costs, reduce risk and improve returns," BT Group said in a statement to the press last year.
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