(Alliance News) - French investment firm Ardian is in the early stages of exploring a bid for Inwit Spa, Italy's leading telecommunications tower operator with a market value of EUR11 billion, Reuters reported over the weekend.

The agency cites "informed" sources on the matter in pointing out that Ardian, Inwit's second-largest shareholder with 30 percent after Vantage Towers AG which has 33 percent, "wants to privatize the Italian company and is working with advisers JPMorgan Chase & Co on a potential offer."

Europe has seen infrastructure investors compete in this market, in part because of their stable returns and long-term contracts.

Deutsche Telekom last year sold 51 percent of its Funkturm tower business to a consortium formed by Canadian Brookfield and U.S. private equity firm DigitalBridge.

Any bid for Inwit "could take months to materialize as preparations remain at a preliminary stage," the source told Reuters. Ardian is also "considering bringing in a co-investor for financial backing for the offer, given the size of the investment."

Vantage Towers' equity stake is a potential obstacle to a deal as the company considers itself a "long-term holder" of Inwit, said one of the sources, who preferred to remain anonymous.

Ardian, Vantage Towers, Inwit and JPMorgan declined to comment, Reuters added.

Created as a spin-off of Telecom Italia Spa's mobile tower operations, INwit merged in 2020 with Vodafone's antenna business in Italy to create a national giant responsible for more than 23,000 towers.

Inwit generates most of its revenues through long-term contracts with wireless operators to host their respective mobile antenna infrastructure on their masts.

Vantage is itself the target of a bid to take it private by a joint venture formed by Vantage shareholder Vodafone and a consortium including KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners.

Inwit on Monday trades in the green by 1.5 percent at EUR11.90 per share.

By Chiara Bruschi, Alliance News reporter

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