KKR offered to take on extra costs, staff to sweeten TIM bid-sources

U.S. fund KKR has strived to structure its offer for the fixed line of Telecom Italia (TIM) in a way that would help the phone group more easily sustain its business after parting ways with its most valuable asset, two sources close to the matter said. As part of a plan backed by Italy's government, KKR this week tabled a multi-billion binding offer for the former telecoms monopoly's domestic access network. KKR is already an investor in TIM's grid.