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The deal is subject to the completion of KKR’s takeover of TIM’s fixed infrastructure business NetCo, which includes FiberCop
Swisscom has announced that its Italian subsidiary FastWeb has sold its 4.5% share of FiberCop to KKR’s subsidiary Optics BidCo for €439 million.
FiberCop is an infrastructure operator established in 2021 by Telecom Italia (TIM), KKR and Fastweb to manage TIM’s ‘last mile’ fibre network, the passive fibre-to-the-home infrastructure that links homes to the cabinet at the end of the street.
The transaction is subject to the completion of TIM’s sale of its fixed network operations (i.e., NetCo) to KKR, which is expected to be completed next quarter.
In the announcement’s short press release, Fastweb confirmed that it “remains fully committed to its mission of driving innovation and connectivity in the country through investments in key telecommunications infrastructures.”
Therefore, it will continue to invest in its own fibre network and remain a provider of wholesale services to third parties.
The news comes just days after the European Commission gave KKR the green light for its planned takeover of TIM’s NetCo for €22 billion. Having completed a full investigation centred around competition concerns, the body decided that the acquisition “would not significantly reduce the level of competition in the market for wholesale broadband access services in Italy.”
Swisscom’s involvement in the Italian telecoms sector does not end there. Last quarter, the company announced a binding deal with Vodafone Italia to acquire its local business unit for €8 billion. Once the deal is complete, the unit will be merged with Fastweb to create Italy’s second-largest fixed-line broadband operator behind TIM.
This deal is expected to be finalised next year.
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