Telecom Italia says knows nothing of Oi initiative on TIM Brazil

MILAN (Reuters) - Telecom Italia, Italy's biggest phone group, said in a statement on Wednesday it had not been contacted by Brazil's Grupo Oi over its plans to take over Telecom Italia's local unit TIM Participacoes. Earlier in the day, Oi had said in a statement it had hired bank BTG Pactual to explore the possibility of acquiring Telecom Italia's 67 percent stake in the unit. Telecom Italia said in a statement late on Wednesday it was "completely extraneous" to the OI initiative, about which it knew nothing. It also said that TIM Brazil was a strategic asset. The statement came at the end of a board meeting during which Telecom Italia discussed the possibility of making an offer for Vivendi's Brazilian broadband unit GVT. (Reporting by Lisa Jucca)