ROME: Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s government rejected a bid by Silvio Berlusconi’s EI Towers SpA to acquire a state-controlled competitor because it considers the business strategic. EI Towers announced a 1.23 billion-euro ($1.4 billion) offer in cash and stock for rival RAI Way. The merger “aims to create a single operator of broadcasting towers in Italy,” EI Towers said in a statement.
The government doesn’t want to sell its 51 percent stake in RAI Way SpA “considering the strategic importance of the infrastructure,” the Economic Development Ministry said Wednesday. It cited a September decree that required state broadcaster RAI to keep at least 51 percent.
EI Towers fell as much as 2.4 percent and traded 0.1 percent lower at 47.94 euros as of 10:24 a.m. in Milan. RAI Way dropped 1.7 percent to 3.98 euros. Mediaset SpA, Berlusconi’s media company, lost 0.6 percent to 4.03 euros.
Italy’s competition regulator said Wednesday it will review EI Towers’ offer to see if it meets the country’s antitrust rules.
