But the company has to negotiate a merger with a competitor

Investment company LetterOne, controlled by Russian billionaires Mikhail Fridman , German Khan and Alexey Kuzmichev , is ready to invest $4 billion in the Brazilian telecommunications company Oi SA, provided that it agrees to merge with local competitor TIM Participacoes, The Wall Street Journal wrote on Monday.

LetterOne Oi announced its interest on Monday. The company said that, through Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual, it had received an offer from LetterOne to enter into negotiations “regarding a potential transaction for the potential consolidation of the Brazilian telecommunications industry, including the potential participation of TIM Participacoes.” The report notes that if the negotiations are successful, LetterOne is ready to invest up to $4 billion in the authorized capital of Oi.

Representatives of LetterOne and Telecom Italia, which controls TIM Participacoes, could not be reached for comment, Bloomberg writes .

Oi announced in August 2014 that it was considering acquisition opportunities in Brazil, including a possible merger with TIM Participacoes. At the same time, TIM was exploring the possibility of absorbing Oi, Bloomberg notes. TIM is the second largest wireless operator in Brazil, Oi is the fourth. In case of merger, the combined company will have 44% of the Brazilian market.

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Friedman proposed an investment of $4 billion to the Brazilian operator Oi