Vodafone to Merge Italian Towers With Telecom Italia's Inwit

   By Adria Calatayud 
 

Vodafone Group PLC (VOD.LN) will combine its Italian tower unit with Telecom Italia SpA's (TIT.MI) Inwit in a deal that implies an enterprise value for the assets of 5.27 billion euros ($5.87 billion), the companies said Friday.

The U.K. telecommunications company said it will receive EUR2.14 billion and a 37.5% shareholding in the combined entity, which will be listed on the Milan Stock Exchange. Vodafone and TIM intend to retain joint control of Inwit but over time will consider jointly reducing their stake to a minimum of 25.0%, the companies said.

Vodafone and TIM will enter into an agreement which includes a three-year lock-up pact for their respective shareholdings, they said.

The network-sharing partnership is expected to enable faster deployment of 5G over a wider geographic area at a lower cost, Vodafone and TIM said. The companies said they expect cumulative savings of EUR800 million each over the next ten years.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed during the first half of 2020, Vodafone said.

Write to Adria Calatayud at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 26, 2019 09:53 ET (13:53 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.