The review of EI Towers’ bid for rival state-controlled towerco RaiWay may not proceed without a new offer document, the market regulator has said.
In a note on Monday, Consob said that because the offer term was amended prior to regulatory approval,…
The review of EI Towers’ bid for rival state-controlled towerco RaiWay may not proceed without a new offer document, the market regulator has said.
In a note on Monday, Consob said that because the offer term was amended prior to regulatory approval, EI Towers should file a revised offer document.
Last week, EI Towers, which is 40% owned by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Elettronica Industriale, itself a subsidiary of the Mediaset group, had agreed to reduce the minimum stake threshold for its bid from 66.67% to 40% in order to secure regulatory approval for the deal.
The watchdog pointed out that by reducing its stake in the proposed target to 40%, the bidder would fail to secure enough control to implement the business objective − creating a single national tower operator, given that RaiWay’s majority shareholder Rai might object to such project.
State broadcaster Rai holds 65.07% in RaiWay, while the remaining shares are publicly traded since last November.
Both the Rai board, which called the offer “inadmissable”, and the government have opposed EI Towers’ bid, arguing that, due to the strategic importance of network infrastructure, the state must retain a minimum 51% stake in RaiWay.
A number of commentators have suggested that the main obstacle to the deal is political, which was the case in 2001, when the then Berlusconi-led government shot down an attempt by US towerco Crown Castle to buy 49% of the group for US$380m.
