Telecom Italia decided not to grant KKR access to its books for the purposes of due diligence, a move which could kill off the US investor’s €10.8 billion non-binding offer for the group.

In a letter dated 4 April, KKR told the operator’s board of directors it would not submit a formal bid unless it is able to carry out due diligence as requested from the start. However, Telecom Italia was not willing to open its books until a formal offer had been received.

After reviewing the matter, the board stated it “unanimously decided” it would “not be appropriate at this time” to grant KKR access to due diligence.

It’s not clear what KKR’s next step will be. Telecom Italia has stated it would be open to reconsidering a bid from the investor should it submit a “complete and attractive offer”, including a price per share.

KKR also indicated it is interested in exploring other transactions in relation to the group.

Meanwhile, Telecom Italia has been pursuing alternative strategies as part of an internal revamp, recently starting talks with state lender CDP on a potential merger of its fixed network with state-backed Open Fiber.

Earlier this year, CEO Pietro Labriola outlined a plan to separate the Italian operator into two units by splitting infrastructure assets from services operations.