Italian infrastructure fund F2i has held a meeting yesterday with Telecom Italia (TI) CEO Marco Patuano to discuss the potential sale of its controlling stake in dark fibre operator Metroweb.
During the meeting, F2i CEO Renato Ravenelli asked TI…
Italian infrastructure fund F2i has held a meeting yesterday with Telecom Italia (TI) CEO Marco Patuano to discuss the potential sale of its controlling stake in dark fibre operator Metroweb.
During the meeting, F2i CEO Renato Ravenelli asked TI management to outline the investment plans which it would carry out, should it be successful in acquiring Metroweb.
A person familiar with the situation told TelecomFinance that the infrastructure fund, who holds a 51% stake in the fibre optic carrier, is currently evaluating all the possible options, including a partial or full exit from Metroweb and a capital increase.
It might also consider selling shares to both TI and Vodafone, which has also expressed an interest in the company.
A meeting between F2i and Vodafone management is scheduled for next week.
The person emphasised that, at this stage, the infrastructure fund is mainly interested in finding out which of the two bidders is more committed to investing in the operator to accelerate the deployment of optic fibre across the whole country, rather than discussing the financial aspects of a potential sale.
F2i aims to close a deal within the first quarter of 2015, the person said.
TI announced that it had sent a proposal to F2i regarding the acquisition of a controlling stake in Metroweb last November.
At the time, the Italian incumbent said it had identified “Metroweb as the partner with which it could quickly create the development plan for the new generation network infrastructure (NGN) in optic fibre at national level”.
In early December, the Italian unit of UK-based telco Vodafone reportedly sent a letter to Italy’s antitrust regulator AGCM to express its concerns over TI’s planned acquisition of Metroweb, arguing that it would hinder competition.
Most of Metroweb’s remaining shares are held by government-owned lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, which has an indirect 32.2% stake through Fondo Strategico Italiano, and Fastweb which holds 10.6%.
