Mobile operator Vodafone’s Italian unit is reportedly looking to acquire a 10% stake in local dark fibre provider Metroweb.
Paolo Bertoluzzo, CEO of Vodafone Italia, told Italian daily Corriere della Sera that he had approached Metroweb’s…
Mobile operator Vodafone’s Italian unit is reportedly looking to acquire a 10% stake in local dark fibre provider Metroweb.
Paolo Bertoluzzo, CEO of Vodafone Italia, told Italian daily Corriere della Sera that he had approached Metroweb’s shareholders, infrastructure fund F2i and private equity firm IMI Investimenti, about the stake.
The publication did not disclose financial details, but a source with direct knowledge of the situation told TelecomFinance on 5 December that “nothing material” has so far transpired.
Vodafone and IMI Investimenti were unable to comment before the press deadline, but a spokesman for F2i said via email: “Vodafone has shown its interest in buying a stake in Metroweb, but there’s no chance for it to happen in the short period.”
Metroweb was sold by Italian utility A2A and UK PE firm Stirling Square Capital earlier this year to F2i and IMI Investimenti for an enterprise value of €436m, which represented more than ten times the company’s EBITDA for 2010.
The company was advised at the time by Lazard.
F2i has a 61.4% stake in Metroweb, A2A holds a 25.7% share and the company’s management own 1.7%. Swiss operator Swisscom is in the process of acquiring 11.1% of Metroweb in a deal that is set to close in January 2012.
