Fastweb, Iliad, Digicel bid for Wind, 3 Italia assets-report

Nieuws Mobiel Italië 8 JUN 2016
Fastweb, Iliad, Digicel bid for Wind, 3 Italia assets-report

VimpelCom and CK Hutchison have received preliminary bids for some of the assets owned by their Italian subsidiaries Wind and 3 Italia from Fastweb, Iliad and Digicel, according to unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg. The assets include redundant frequencies and around 5,000 wireless towers and would be used to create a new mobile operator in Italy with a view to persuading the European Commission's anti-trust authorities to green light the merger of Wind and 3 Italia. The preliminary bids were presented to EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager, said the sources.

Although Swisscom subsidiary Fastweb and French telecom group Iliad were previously linked to the assets, Caribbean operator Digicel is a new entrant, while Sky has decided against proceeding with negotiations, said the report. Hutchison and VimpelCom formally submitted concessions on their proposed deal to the EC on 06 June, with the sources adding that the Commission is set to provide feedback on the preliminary bids in a few days. The EC previously announced that it would publish its final decision on the proposed merger on 18 August.

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