Telecom Italia said on Monday that Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris had made an offer to invest in the debt-laden Italian company, which has been hit hard by the eurozone debt crisis.

"In the past days the company has received communication from Mr. Naguib Sawiris about an interest in investing in Telecom Italia SpA's sharecapital through underwriting of new stock issuing," the company said in a statement.

The company's shares shot up more than 7.0 per cent on the Milan Stock Exchange following the announcement, settling to up 5.0 around 1230 GMT.

"Evidently, if there is interest in Telecom Italia, it means that there is something very valuable within the company. This interest is welcome," Telecom Italia's chairman Franco Bernabe told ANSA news agency.

The company said it was asked by Italian market watchdog Consob to clarify press rumours that Sawiris was interested in buying a stake.

According to media reports, the Egyptian entrepreneur has offered to invest some five billion euros ($6.36 billion) in the company, which would amount to a 30 per cent stake.

Telecom Italia on Friday reported a net profit fall of 13.4 per cent for the third quarter to 681 million euros but stood by its forecast for 2012 earnings.

The company, which is trying to reducing its debt to about 27.5 billion euros, said it was suffering from recessionary tensions in the domestic market and an economic slowdown in Latin American countries.

The company said sales had been hit by the eurozone debt crisis. The economic outlook was worsening, it said, and the market is "characterized by powerful deflationary forces and tightening regulatory pressures."