By Anisha Sircar

(Reuters) -European shares rose Monday as a result Telecom Italia The sector rallied after a U.S.-funded bid of $12 billion by KKR for Italy’s largest telephone group to be privatized.

Pan-European saw 0.2% growth, reversed some Friday’s losses caused by an increase in COVID-19 case numbers. This prompted Austria and neighboring Germany to put themselves under lockdown.

Telecom stock rose 1.1% – their highest day in 4 months – fueled by a 24% increase in Telecom Italia’s (TIM), to its highest point since June.

KKR reportedly established an indicative price for 50.5 Euro Cents in its buyout offering – a 45.7% discount to Friday’s closing price.

OANDA senior market analyst Craig Erlam stated that the premium was very appealing. This is the reason we are seeing an increase in shares. However, the most interesting aspect of the response by the Italian government to the bid is what will lay the foundation for future outside offers and all the Italian companies which have fallen on hard times.”

Inwit, an Italian mobile phone tower company that is partly controlled by TIM gained 4.4% because the KKR strategy created speculative appeal. Vivendi, TIM’s highest investor (OTC:), rose 2.3%

As concerns over the effects of new COVID-19 limitations on automakers and banks, the European benchmark experienced its first weekly fall in seven week.

However, these sectors recovered on Monday with industrial, banking, and mining companies all moving forward.

Erlam said, “No matter how many downside risks there are or how worrying situations get, the European markets have shown incredible resilience.”

Telenor in Norway rose 1.8% on another telecoms deal. It merged its telecom unit with Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Group, an agreement that was worth approximately $8.61 trillion.

Sweden’s Ericsson (BSI:) fell 4.1% following the acquisition of Vonage, a cloud communication firm by mobile telecoms equipment manufacturer.

Vestas Wind Turbine maker lost 2.3% following a cyberattack that compromised its IT systems.