Reuters was first to report that the Italian Treasury is ready to back a joint purchase proposal for Telecom Italia’s (TIM) grid by KKR and state lender CDP in a bid to end a stalemate over the sale process of the phone group’s prized asset. Buoyed since early trade, Telecom Italia shares rose further after Reuters reported the developments, gaining as much as 8%. The sale of the network is a key plank in the current TIM management’s plan to turn around the struggling former phone monopoly by slashing its 25 billion euro debt pile. This strategy has been challenged by the company’s top investor, Vivendi, which is seeking a valuation of 31 billion euros for the phone group’s main asset.