UK-based Vodafone is reportedly looking at buying a stake in Italian dark fibre operator Metroweb to boost its competiveness with incumbent Telecom Italia (TI).
Italian infrastructure fund F2i, which has a 51% stake in Metroweb’s majority shareholder…
UK-based Vodafone is reportedly looking at buying a stake in Italian dark fibre operator Metroweb to boost its competiveness with incumbent Telecom Italia (TI).
Italian infrastructure fund F2i, which has a 51% stake in Metroweb’s majority shareholder Metroweb Italia, is a potential seller, Bloomberg cited two people familiar with the matter as saying.
Metroweb Italia has an 87% stake in Metroweb.
An F2i source was quoted in a later Reuters article as saying the fund has not received an offer for shares in Metroweb, adding that the topic will not be discussed at its board meeting in late November.
Vodafone, which operates Italy’s second-largest mobile player, and Metroweb have declined to comment.
Most of Metroweb’s remaining shares are split between Italian state lender CDP, with an indirect 32.2% stake through Fondo Strategico Italiano (FSI), and Swisscom’s Italian broadband unit Fastweb which holds 10.6%.
TI is also reportedly interested in acquiring a stake in Metroweb, which operates a network in Milan. According to an October news agency report, the incumbent’s board has mandated CEO Marco Patuano to negotiate the purchase of F2i’s stake in the fibre-optic operator. Earlier reports had suggested TI planned to invest €300m for a less than 50% stake, which would enable it to avoid antitrust scrutiny.
The Milan-based telco has also declined to comment on the matter.
In September, CDP CEO Giovanni Gorno Tempini reportedly said that Metroweb had the financial resources to invest in fibre projects and was welcoming approaches from potential partners.
