Italy: Network Spin Off by Italy's Wind Tre

According to reports, the Italian telecom giant Wind Tre is considering spinning off its network assets. A Reuters source noted that  the operator continues to explore a potential sale with the Swedish private equity firm EQT while also expressing a desire to spin off its network assets into a new business. With the expense of deploying 5G networks proving to be increasingly expensive for operators, it is believed that spinning off the network might provide additional revenue for the company. Many operators in Europe have tried to implement this strategy; among the companies that have sold assets to obtain money are Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, and CK Hutchison, the owner of Wind Tre. According to Reuters, Wind Tre may have a better chance of being acquired if its network assets are spun off. 

Sources who spoke with the outlet said the operator would shift 2,000 of its 6,500 workers in Italy to the networks company if the proposed spin-off materialized. The business provides data center services through Stack, which has a facility outside of Milan. A sequence of mobile mergers led to the creation of the Wind Tre enterprise. Launched in Italy in 1999, Andala was later bought by Hutchison Whampoa and changed its name to H3G/Three Italy in 2000. Enel, France Télécom (now Orange), and Deutsche Telekom founded Wind in late 1997; they later sold it to Weather Ventures in 2005 and Veon in 2011. After then, CK Hutchison purchased a portion of Wind in 2016 and changed its name to Wind Tre before purchasing the full business in 2018.