Telecom Italia looks to raise $1 billion from INWIT IPO

Italy’s largest operator, Telecom Italia, has set the price range it is aiming for from the IPO of 40% of its INWIT telecom tower subsidiary.

Telecom Italia first formally announced the decision to offer part of INWIT to the public last month, having indicated its intentions earlier in the year. INWIT owns around 11,500 towers in Italy and generates additional revenue from leasing them to other telecoms companies. Their main job, however, is to be the backbone of Telecom Italia’s network, which is presumably why it wants to retain majority ownership.

The price range set today is between €3.25 and €3.90 per share, valuing INWIT in the €1.95 billion to €2.34 billion range and potentially raising up to a billion dollars for the Italian operator.

Telecom Italia has been in consolidation mode for a while, having liquidated assets in Argentina and Brazil, while also looking to strengthen its domestic position through partnerships, acquisitions and a potential merger with WIND. There is clearly a lot of corporate manoeuvring going on at Telecom Italia towers and the chances are this isn’t the last of it.