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Telecom Italia CEO says Brazil unit is core asset that can be sold

MILAN (Reuters) - Telecom Italia CEO Marco Patuano said on Thursday the company's Brazilian unit TIM Participacoes was a core asset and he would consider selling it only at a "convincing" price. "Brazil is a core asset but also core assets have a price," Patuano told an analyst conference call to present the company's 2014-2016 business plan. "Never say never. But the price of a core asset is a price that can convince me and the board to change strategy in which today we clearly decided that Brazil is an important component." A source familiar with the matter has said Telecom Italia aimed to raise at least 9 billion euros from the sale of its 67 percent stake in TIM. CFO Piergiorgio Peluso said the board did not discuss dividend policy on Thursday. (Reporting by Danilo Masoni, editing by Stephen Jewkes)