A consortium led by French private equity group Ardian has emerged as the leading bidder in the race to acquire a stake in Italian mobile towers group Inwit, according to unnamed sources cited by Reuters. Telecom Italia (TIM) and Vodafone last year agreed to merge their Italian mobile infrastructure under the Inwit unit that is 60 percent-owned by TIM as well as jointly rolling out 5G networks. The partners will each have a 37.5 percent stake and equal governance rights in the enlarged Inwit and have already agreed to sell a combined 25 percent stake.
One source said the Ardian-led consortium is expected to secure the stake, worth around EUR 2 billion, while another said the group is close to being selected after a thorough negotiation process. The EUR 10 billion merger is still awaiting European Union approval, with TIM and Vodafone reportedly offering to give their rivals a degree of access to their infrastructure to mitigate antitrust concerns.
