Investment fund F2i, together with Providence Equity Partners, has submitted a non-bidding offer for Wind Telecomunicazioni’s tower portfolio.
American Tower, Spanish infrastructure group Abertis, Mediaset-controlled EI Towers have also reportedly…
Investment fund F2i, together with Providence Equity Partners, has submitted a non-bidding offer for Wind Telecomunicazioni’s tower portfolio.
American Tower, Spanish infrastructure group Abertis, Mediaset-controlled EI Towers have also reportedly placed separate offers for the assets.
Italy’s third-largest mobile operator, which is owned by Russia-focused VimpelCom, is looking to sell around 6,000 towers, which could be valued at up to €700m (US$870m), according to a Bloomberg report citing two people with knowledge of the situation.
HSBC and Banca Imi are reportedly advising on the sale.
A Vimpelcom spokesman confirmed that the company received non-binding offers on 10 November and that it aims to close the transaction in early 2015. He also added that the sale proceeds will be used to reduce Wind’s debt burden.
At the end of October, TelecomFinance learnt that Abertis was due to lodge a bid for Wind’s tower assets imminently.
The news came as Abertis had begun pre-marketing the IPO of its tower business into a new unit called Abertis Telecom Terrestre.
Should its bid for the Wind portfolio be successful, the Madrid-based company would close its second Italian tower deal in less than a year. Back in May, Abertis acquired TowerCo for €94.6m (US$129.7m) from Italian motorway operator Atlantia.
Alongside the Wind portfolio, Abertis is also interested in Portugal Telecom’s planned disposal of 3,000 towers and is watching what Orange Spain and Telecom Italia may choose to do with their own sites.
Meanwhile, American Tower is rumoured to be among the shortlisted candidates for TIM Brasil’s tower portfolio, which parent Telecom Italia is looking to sell by the end of the year.
Abertis and Providence declined to comment, while American Tower and EI Towers were not immediately available for comment.
