In order to merge two Italian telecom firms, Luxembourg-based infrastructure investor Marguerite said on Thursday that it has restructured its holdings in Italian fibre and data activities through an agreement with Asterion Industrial Partners, an investment firm focused on mid-market European infrastructure
As a result of the agreement, Asterion will acquire Marguerite’s 19.6 percent stake in Irideos SpA. Marguerite then will re-invest the proceeds from this transaction in Marbles SpA, the Italian holding company of Retelit that also owns 98 percent of Irideos. Financial details were not disclosed.
The transactions eventually target a merger of Retelit and Irideos, the firm said.
With these investment shifts, Asterion and Marguerite want to consolidate Retelit’s and Irideos’s positions in the Italian telecom sector “by merging the two highly complementary businesses and creating the most significant alternative wholesale access and B2B connectivity provider in Italy with a network of 42,000 fibre km and 34 data centres,” the firm said.
‘Stronger player’
“We are excited by the prospect of joining Asterion to create a market leader in the Italian telecom B2B sector, capitalising on synergies and value creation opportunities through the combination of these two companies,” said Michael Dedieu, managing partner at Marguerite. “We’re investing in the platform aggregating Irideos and Retelit as we believe this combination will create a stronger player and create additional value.”
Retelit, acquired by Asterion and delisted from Milan Stock Exchange in November 2021, is one of Italy’s leading independent wholesale providers of fibre services, with a platform of around 15,000 km of fibre, including metropolitan networks in the 14 largest cities, as well as 19 data centres. It offers wholesale access, B2B connectivity and ICT solutions and services to its customers ranging from large telecommunications companies to small and mid-sized corporates.
Asterion recently acquired 78.4 percent of Irideos from Fondi Italiani per le Infrastrutture Sgr, a fund also known as F2i.