Telecom Italia may swap 25% stake in Sparkle for CdP stake in Metroweb
Telecom Italia could swap a 25% stake in Telecom Italia Sparkle, its subsidiary that owns undersea fibre optic cables in the Mediterranean, in exchange for the 46% stake held in fibre optic operator Metroweb by CdP, the holding of the Italian Treasury. An unsourced report in La Repubblica said that TI would then buy the 56% stake held in Metroweb by Italian infrastructure fund F2i for cash.
The Italian language report said that TI is making the offer to see off a rival bid for Metroweb by Enel, the listed Italian utility group.
Sparkle is debt free, has turnover of EUR 1.3bn and an EBITDA of EUR 250m. The report said that some investment banks value Sparkle at USD 1.2bn - USD 1.3bn. The report added hat Metroweb is valued at EUR 700m.
La Repubblica