Macquarie to table binding offer for Enel's Open Fiber stake - report

News Broadband Italy 16 SEP 2020
Macquarie to table binding offer for Enel's Open Fiber stake - report
Australian infrastructure fund Macquarie is set to make a binding offer to acquire all or part of Enel’s 50 percent stake in Italian wholesale-only operator Open Fiber, according to an unnamed source cited by Reuters. The offer for a stake of between 35 percent and 50 percent will be sent to Enel before the utility giant’s board meeting on 17 September, said the source. In June, Enel confirmed that Macquarie had tabled a non-binding offer for all or part of its stake in a bid that according to various sources valued the company at EUR 7.7 billion.

Enel controls Open Fiber with state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) and is being pressured by the Italian government to merge its fibre assets with those of Telecom Italia (TIM) to create a nationwide entity called AccessCo open equally to all operators. CDP has a right of first refusal on any sale by Enel, while Vodafone and WindTre also have a right of first refusal on a combined stake of around 15 percent in the event of an ownership change.


 

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Fixed

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Open Fiber

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Italy

Tags:

Fibre, Internet Access, Wholesale, M&A buyouts & divestments

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