KKR, a US-based private equity firm, has tabled a takeover bid worth €33 billion ($37 billion) for Telecom Italia (TIM), one of Italy’s dominant telecommunications providers.

The offer, which if accepted would lead to what media has reported as Europe’s largest-ever private equity buyout, comes in the midst of an internal boardroom war at TIM, which amongst its sporting interests holds title sponsorship rights to Italian men’s soccer’s top-tier Serie A until 2024.

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The proposal values TIM at €10.8 billion in total, with the firm’s shares 32 per cent higher in value after the offer was tabled.

TIM, which went private in 1997, currently has a net debt of €22.5 billion.

Its foremost current investor, French media firm Vivendi, currently holds a 24-per-cent stake, and reports have suggested that Vivendi does not believe the KKR offer is adequate for what TIM is worth.

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However, KKR is believed to be targeting an acceptance threshold of 51 per cent so that the offer does not need Vivendi’s support to go through.

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In terms of its sporting stable, TIM currently holds live streaming rights to the top-tier Serie A Femminile, Italian women’s soccer’s top league, while it is also the title sponsor of that competition in addition to the men’s counterpart.

It shows action from the women’s Serie A on its TIMVision online service.

TIM also distributes Serie A coverage packages owned by the international over-the-top subscription platform DAZN.

The overall relationship between TIM and Serie A first began in 1999, and the last three-year deal, between 2018 and the end of the 2020-21 campaign, was estimated to be worth €15 million ($18.3 million), per season.