Telecom Italia announced it was on track to launch fixed spin-off Fibercop in Q1 2021, after the European Commission (EC) concluded the plan and stakeholder make-up of the venture didn’t require further investigation under EU merger rules.
Following an EC assessment of Telecom Italia’s plan, the authority decided it “cannot be considered a concentration” in the market and as a result didn’t fall under the jurisdiction of European merger regulation.
Final details of the plan to spin-off Telecom Italia’s so-called “secondary network” into FiberCop was detailed in September, when the operator announced the sale of a 37.5 per cent stake [1] to investor KKR Infrastructure for €1.8 billion, subject to regulatory approval.
Assets to be held by the new company comprise its fibre network from cabinets to homes in addition to the network owned by FlashFiber, Telecom Italia’s joint venture with Fastweb.
Following the investment by KKR Infrastructure, Telecom Italia will own a 58 per cent stake with Fastweb holding 4.5 per cent.
Telecom Italia said the EU notification was “an important step towards the launch of FiberCop’s operations”.
The company’s shuffle of its fixed assets comes at a time when Italy is pushing for the creation of a single national fibre network, which would be formed by merging assets held by FiberCop with rival Open Fiber.
Despite being a long-held aim of the country’s government [2], the move could yet fall foul of European competition regulations [3].
[1] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/telecom-italia-sells-e1-8b-fibre-stake-agrees-state-plan
[2] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/tim-open-fiber-deal-could-mean-job-cuts
[3] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/home-banner/italy-network-plan-tipped-to-hit-eu-headwinds
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