Italy's Poste swaps its holding in Nexi with CDP's stake in Telecom Italia

ROME (Reuters) - State-backed financial conglomerate Poste Italiane has decided to buy the stake in Telecom Italia (TIM) held by state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), it said in a statement on Saturday.

In offloading its 9.8% TIM shareholding to Poste, CDP will buy Poste's 3.78% stake in Italian payments group Nexi.

Poste offers phone services through its Poste Mobile unit.

"The operation represents an investment of a strategic nature, with the aim of creating synergies between the companies and favouring, with all the players involved, the consolidation of the telecommunications market in Italy," Poste said in a statement.

(Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni, editing by Deepa Babington)