MILAN (Reuters) – Swiss-based investment firm Partners Group has reached a deal to buy a 75% stake in Italy’s broadband and wireless communications group EOLO, the Italian company said on Saturday.
Under the terms of the accord, Partners Group will buy the EOLO shares owned by main owner Searchlight Capital Partners and part of the shares held by EOLO Chairman and founder Luca Spada.
Spada will maintain ownership of the remaining 25%.
No financial details were disclosed in the EOLO statement but a source close to the matter said Partners Group’s offer valued the whole group at 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion).
EOLO, Italy’s leading provider of connectivity through Fixed Wireless Access technology, said the arrival of Partners Group would strengthen its competitive position, “which envisages investments of 850 million euros by 2025”.
Earlier this year Partners Group bought a 49% stake in Telepass, the toll-road payment unit of Italian infrastructure group Atlantia.
($1 = 0.8471 euros)
(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Crispian Balmer)
