Wall Street closes at a record for the first time since end of January
Investing.com -- Inwit shares jumped more than 7% in Milan after a report said major shareholder Ardian is in discussions with Canadian infrastructure investor Brookfield Asset Management over a potential joint takeover of the Italian telecom towers group.
According to Il Sole 24 Ore, Ardian is working with Brookfield on a bid targeting full control of INWIT. Ardian, together with partner Credit Agricole Assurance, already holds about 31% of the company through the Daphne holding vehicle.
The renewed takeover speculation follows earlier reporting by French outlet La Lettre in February and comes after a steep decline in Inwit’s share price last week.
The stock had dropped after Telecom Italia and Swisscom’s Fastweb unveiled plans to build up to 6,000 telecom towers in Italy, creating a direct competitive challenge to INWIT, the country’s largest tower operator.
The proposed venture is seen as a significant risk to Inwit’s business model, given that TIM and Fastweb are its largest tenants.
“The agreement is a clear threat to INWIT and comes at a time when the company is already in discussions with its anchor tenants over their respective contracts,” analysts at Intermonte said.
The initiative could reduce future demand for new sites from TIM and Fastweb, while also increasing their leverage in negotiations with Inwit, they added.
The planned joint venture marks a shift away from a long-standing industry trend in which telecom operators sold tower assets and leased them back to raise capital. TIM and Fastweb said they will serve as anchor customers of the new entity, which will also be open to other operators and could allow third-party investors to join at a later stage.