The acquisition of broadband network company Open Fiber by Italy’s state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) and Australian fund Macquarie has won EU regulatory approval, Reuters reported.
A filing on the European Commission website on Thursday indicates that the deal does not raise serious doubts over its compatibility with the common market.
State-controlled Enel and CDP currently have joint control of Open Fiber, which had been set up for the rollout of fibre optic cables.
The deal will increase CDP’s Open Fiber stake by 10 percent to 60 percent while Macquarie will acquire 40 percent.
The approval could help with a long-mooted plan to merge Open Fiber’s network with that of Telecom Italia (TIM), sources told Reuters on Monday.
CDP is TIM’s second-biggest shareholder behind French media company Vivendi, which some analysts had viewed as a potential complication in gaining EU approval for the Open Fiber deal.
