Telecom Italia (TI) aims to raise €1.8bn, or 13x EBITDA, from the IPO of its tower spinoff Inwit, according to a local media report.
The Rome-based telco has started the process of listing 40% of the unit, which comprises 11,500 telecoms towers, and…
Telecom Italia (TI) aims to raise €1.8bn, or 13x EBITDA, from the IPO of its tower spinoff Inwit, according to a local media report.
The Rome-based telco has started the process of listing 40% of the unit, which comprises 11,500 telecoms towers, and aims to complete the transaction by June.
Banca Imi, Deutsche Bank and Mediobanca are coordinating the offer, along with UBS as joint bookrunner.
The tower IPO is part of the telco’s recently-announced three-year strategic plan, which will see it invest €14bn in network upgrades in Italy and Brazil, where it controls the second-largest mobile operator TIM Brasil.
The company is also striving to reduce its €26.65bn debt burden, and expects the new plan will result in savings of about €1bn over the next three years due to cost efficiencies.
Inks deal with Sky
Yesterday, the company announced a strategic partnership with Sky Italia, in a bid to diversify its offering by expanding into the pay-TV segment.
The “TIM Sky” joint offer will be available for TIM’s private customers with a fibre-optic connection from 30 to 100 Mbit/s and 20 Mbit/s ADSL.
“Today, in Italy, with Sky, we are starting a new collaboration model between telco and media companies that allows us to go to the market with a fully convergent offer ,” Telecom Italia CEO Marco Patuano said. “We are convinced that this strategic deal is an important driver for the development of the new ultra-broadband networks and of the innovative technologies that are at the core of our business plan featuring more than €5bn investments for the three years period 2015-2017.”
Patuano, who last month dismissed media rumours about a potential merger with Berlusconi-owned Mediaset Group, is reportedly in advanced-stage discussions with the broadcaster for a similar content partnership.
The CEO was also quoted as saying that TI’s strategy is in line with that of its new shareholder, French media group Vivendi, which acquired 8.3% of Telefonica’s voting rights in TI via its sale of Brazilian broadband provider GVT.
Vivendi chairman Vincent Bollore, who also holds stakes in TI shareholders Mediobanca and Generali, is likely to play a key role in transforming the telco into a quad-play operator.
