Italy readies decree to trigger TV towers tie-up, sources say

Rai Way SpA

26/03/2024 15:18

ROME, March 26 (Reuters) - Italy is preparing a decree
to ease a long-awaited tie-up between state-backed Rai Way
 RWAY.MI  and rival EI Towers, government officials said on
Tuesday, which would create a TV towers group worth more than 2
billion euros ($2.17 billion).
    The merger "is a concrete hypothesis but still requires some
reflection," Cabinet Undersecretary Alberto Barachini told
reporters on the sidelines of an event in Parliament.
    A second official, asking not to be named, said the decree
could allow state-owned broadcaster RAI to cut its stake in Rai
Way below 30%.
    News of the decree was first reported by Italian daily La
Repubblica. Milan-listed shares in Rai Way rose as much as 6.4%
after the report.
    RAI holds 65% of Rai Way, while EI Towers is 60% owned by
fund F2i and 40% by MediaForEurope (MFE)  MFEB.MI , which is
controlled by the family of late media tycoon and political
leader Silvio Berlusconi.
    The official added Rome intended to keep the tower
infrastructure under state control, without providing further
details on how the proposed merger should be implemented.
    A previous blueprint for the deal would have seen Rai Way
investors receive an extraordinary dividend worth up to 400
million euros.
    RAI said in January it planned to sell a 15% stake in Rai
Way to collect resources to fund its new industrial plan. 
    Following the announcement, Treasury sources told Reuters
that the stake sale would not prevent RAI from exploring the
tie-up between Rai Way and EI Towers at a later stage.
    An option being discussed within the ruling coalition would
see RAI sell shares of Rai Way to one or more state-sponsored
investors, separate sources had previously told Reuters, in line
with what Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti advised last
July.
    ($1 = 0.9226 euros)

 (Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte and Elvira Pollina; Editing by
Sharon Singleton)
 ((giuseppe.fonte@thomsonreuters.com; +390680307711;))