The Italian government has reiterated its opposition to EI Towers’ takeover of state-owned rival RaiWay, according to local press reports.
An article in Italian daily Il Corriere Della Sera quoted Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan as saying that no…
The Italian government has reiterated its opposition to EI Towers’ takeover of state-owned rival RaiWay, according to local press reports.
An article in Italian daily Il Corriere Della Sera quoted Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan as saying that no negotiations are underway and there is no intention to entertain any.
He reportedly added that there are “various entities” interested in buying a stake in the company, which was listed last November.
This comes amid recent press speculation suggesting that the government could favour the emergence of a single integrated infrastructure operator able to combine the tower assets of all the major players, including Telecom Italia’s tower spinoff Inwit, which the telco plans to float by the summer.
According to the rumours, government-owned lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), which holds an indirect 32.2% stake in dark fibre operator Metroweb through Fondo Strategico Italiano (FSI), could become a stakeholder in the combined entity.
Last week, EI Towers, which is 40% owned by Silvio Berlusconi’s Elettronica Industriale, launched a €1.2bn (US$1.4bn) tender offer to acquire Rai Way in a cash and stock deal, aimed at creating a large national TV and radio infrastructure operator.
The towerco said it would fund the acquisition with a loan granted by an undisclosed “primary international investment bank”, rumoured to be JP Morgan.
The offer is conditional upon the acquisition of at least 66.67% of Rai Way’s share capital, but the economic development ministry hampered the deal, saying that the government must own no less than 51% of the group because of the “strategic importance of network infrastructure”.
EI Towers shareholders are due to approve the tender offer on 27 March.
