MILAN, March 3 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia (TIM) expects to raise 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) from the sale of a 12.4% indirect stake in mobile telecoms tower business INWIT to a consortium led by private equity firm Ardian, TIM's chief executive said on Thursday.
Under pressure from aggressive price competition in its core domestic market, debt-laden Telecom Italia plunged to a record annual net loss in 2021.
Newly-appointed CEO Pietro Labriola said he aimed to finalise the INWIT deal by June, adding the former phone monopoly would retain a 3% indirect stake in INWIT, as well as some governance rights.
France's Ardian, which has already an indirect holding in the tower group, would as a result increase its interest in INWIT to 27.2%.
Born as a spin-off of Telecom Italia's mobile tower operations, INWIT merged in 2020 with rival Vodafone's mast business in Italy to create the country's largest telecoms tower firm which manages 22,000 towers in the country.
Vodafone holds a 33.2% stake in INWIT. ($1 = 0.9028 euros) (Reporting by Elvira Pollina Editing by Keith Weir)
Vodafone (VOD)