LISBON, Portugal, June 2 (UPI) -- Six venture-capital firms reportedly will join forces and make a bid for Portugal Telecom.
The Times of London said Friday the consortium was just weeks away from making a formal offer of 14 billion euros ($18 billion) for the national telco.
The new team includes Cinven, Permira, Blackstone, KKR and Texas Pacific. The Times said the U.S. investment group Carlyle opted to not become directly involved in the bid.
Portugal Telecom already has one bid on the table -- 11 billion euros ($14.2 billion) -- from Sonaecom.
The Times said that the new developments indicated an overall growth in interest in telecoms among private venture capitalists but noted that the Portuguese government maintains a veto power over any transaction involving Portugal Telecom.
