(Bloomberg) -- Enel SpA directors may approve the sale of the company’s 50% stake in Open Fiber SpA by the end of the year, Il Sole 24 Ore reported.

Australia’s Macquarie Group Ltd., which offered 2.65 billion euros ($3.1 billion) for the stake in the broadband network last month, may increase its bid as it now values the company at 7.5 billion euros, including debt, the Italian daily reported.

Italian state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, which holds the other 50% of Open Fiber, may buy 10% of the Enel stake in a deal that would pave the way for Open Fiber’s merger with its larger rival, former telecommunications monopoly Telecom Italia SpA, people familiar with the transaction said in September. CDP is one of Telecom Italia’s biggest investors.

The creation of a single national broadband network is a priority for Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

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