Alberto Trondoli, CEO of Milan-based dark fibre operator Metroweb, has confirmed that its majority shareholder, Italian infrastructure fund F2i, has received expressions of interest from both Telecom Italia (TI) and Vodafone for a stake in the…
Alberto Trondoli, CEO of Milan-based dark fibre operator Metroweb, has confirmed that its majority shareholder, Italian infrastructure fund F2i, has received expressions of interest from both Telecom Italia (TI) and Vodafone for a stake in the company.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event in Milan earlier today, the CEO said that F2i, which has a 51% stake in Metroweb’s majority shareholder Metroweb Italia, is currently reviewing the proposals and will make a decision within the next few days.
On Friday, TI announced that it had sent a proposal to F2i through which it “formalised its interest in starting discussions on the acquisition of a controlling stake in Metroweb as soon as possible”.
The Italian incumbent also 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”.
Vodafone has also been rumoured among the potential bidders, although the company never confirmed the market speculations.
Trondoli pointed out that F2i will not exclusively base its decision on price but also on the business plan submitted by the parties.
The CEO reportedly added that F2i would likely launch a tender process for its stake to ensure transparency given that the target has attracted interest from several parties.
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%.
