Telecom Italia may sell a controlling stake in Telecom Argentina to investment fund Fintech, as part of a new strategy aimed at raising €4 billion to avoid a credit downgrade and revive its business.

Telecom Italia chief executive Marco Patuano, who has recently taken over from Franco Bernabe, unveiled a set of proposed disposals late on Thursday that includes the sale of 22.7 per cent of Telecom Argentina.

Patuano said yesterday that the company had received a $1 billion offer for its stake.

He did not name the bidder, however Fintech's Mexican owner David Martinez told Argentina's media regulator that his US-based fund was in talks with the Italian company about the stake sale, a spokesman for the regulator said yesterday. – (Reuters)