LetterOne, an investment firm lead by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, is planning to invest $4 billion in Brazilian telecommunication company Oi SA, although the offer is conditioned on the success of a potential merger with TIM Participacoes, a local unit of Telecom Italia. In August of 2014, Oi said that it was considering acquisition or merger possibilities in Brazil, including a potential deal with TIM Participacoes unit, and that it hired Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual to look at opportunities.