Swisscom would only look at selling its Italian fixed-line unit Fastweb if a bidder came with a “very, very attractive offer”, according to the incumbent’s CFO Mario Rossi.
Speaking in this month’s issue of TelecomFinance magazine, Rossi said…
Swisscom would only look at selling its Italian fixed-line unit Fastweb if a bidder came with a “very, very attractive offer”, according to the incumbent’s CFO Mario Rossi.
Speaking in this month’s issue of TelecomFinance magazine, Rossi said Swisscom was very satisfied with the recent development of Fastweb, which increased its EBITDA by 10% in the first nine months of 2014 in what the CFO described as “a very tough market”.
Rossi said he believed the unit had passed the inflection point and expected it to produce free cash flow from next year. This growth is welcome to Swisscom as its business in Switzerland operates in a saturated market where ARPUs are already high.
Rossi noted that rumours and speculation about in-market consolidation in Italy are constant.
“If somebody were to present a very, very attractive offer, we would, like any other board of this world, have a look at it,” he said.
Fastweb is reported to be worth up to €5bn (US$6.2bn) and Vodafone has been suggested to be the unit’s main suitor; rumours of a deal have been circulating since June 2013.
However, in mid-October Vodafone’s head of Italy, Aldo Bisio, was reported to say that he did not see conditions for an offer at present.
Vodafone has also been linked to Italian dark fibre provider Metroweb, in which Fastweb holds a 10% stake.
The November issue of TelecomFinance magazine is out today.
