• TIM sells 70% Persidera stake
  • F2i and EI Towers also buy 30% stake from GEDI Gruppo
  • Deal worth $240m overall

Telecom Italia credit Manuel Esteban shutterstock

Source: Manuel Esteban/Shutterstock

Telecom Italia is looking to offload substantial debts and has agreed to sell its majority stake in Persidera, which specialises in broadcast infrastructure and services.

The Italian telco owns a 70% stake in Persidera, which was set up in 2014 as a joint venture with Rete A, which is owned by GEDI Gruppo Editoriale.

The deal will see GEDI receive around €74 million for its 40% shareholding, with Telecom Italia set to use the remainder of the cash to alleviate debts which stood at around €25 billion at the end of March.

“The expected overall impact on the Group’s NFP reduction in 2019 is of approximately €160 million; such amount includes the consideration for the 70% held to be collected at the closing, the dividends distributed by the company and the effect of the deconsolidation of Persidera’s debt,” Telecom Italia said in a statement to the press.

Persidera develops and manages TIMB 1, TIMB 2, TIMB 3, Rete A 1 and Rete A 2 digital multiplexes. It offers a 360 ° technological Partner offering DTT broadcasting services, playout, connectivity and multimedia services for national and foreign television publishers operating on the Italian market.

F2i is an infrastructure investment fund based in Italy. It holds a 60% share in EI Towers alongside Mediaset, following a public tender offer last year. EI Towers owns and operates 2,300 broadcast towers and more than 1,000 TLC towers.