Vimpelcom has hired Morgan Stanley to advise on the deal, while Goldman Sachs is working with Hutchison, according to the sources. Italian bank Mediobanca is also expected to have a role. Although the parties have been negotiating for over six months and reportedly came very close to agreeing a deal in December, Wind’s debt has proved a stumbling block. In March Italian daily La Repubblica suggested that certain assets such as mobile towers and Wind's fixed line business Infostrada could be sold to reduce debts and clear the way for a deal.
Wind is currently the third largest mobile operator in Italy behind Telecom Italia and Vodafone, with 3 Italia coming in fourth. If the operators do reach an agreement, they would still have to convince European regulators that reducing the number of mobile network operators would be in the interests of consumers.
