Tuesday, May 20, 2008


 
   By Marietta Cauchi and Carol Dean 
   Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Bids in the next round for the sale of Italian firm Wind SpA's transmission towers are due May 27, people familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday.

Four bidders are expected to submit offers in what one banker close to the situation said is an "intermediary" round.

The bidders for the towers, owned jointly by Wind and 3 Italia SpA, include Spanish toll-road operator Abertis Infraestructuras SA (ABE.MC), the people familiar with the matter said.

U.S. buyout shop TPG, will also submit an offer, bidding through France's TDF SA, which it owns jointly with French insurer AXA SA (AXA), the people added.

A consortium comprising telecommunications tower operator DMT SpA (DMT.MI), Italian investment fund F2i, Australian investment group Babcock & Brown Ltd. (BNB.AU), Deutsche Bank AG's (DB) real-estate arm RREEF and UniCredit SpA (UC.MI) is also on the shortlist and will make an offer, the people familiar with the matter said.

A fourth bid is expected from Clessidra Capital Partners, which has teamed up with Italian infrastructure company Atlantia SpA (ATL.MI).

Wind's tower business, which comprises some 18,000 mobile phone towers, was expected to fetch EUR1.5 billion to EUR2 billion when the auction process kicked off last October.

While the bidders will be expected to give clear indications as to price and what plans they have for the tower service agreement, none of the bidders are expected to have firm financing in place because of the complex nature of the business, one of the people familiar with the matter said.

"The problem with this deal relates to the financing even though the leveraged finance market is beginning to show signs of life," the person said. "It's unlikely to attract bog standard (leveraged-buyout) financiers but may be of interest to project financiers and banks that are sizable lenders to the telecom sector," he added.

The transaction is likely to require sizable capital expenditure financing, potentially attracting project financiers, the person said. However, these lenders typically only lend to BBB and above-rated projects - projects with an investment grade - a condition the transaction may not fulfill, he added.

Wind is controlled by Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris' holding Weather. Weather also has a controlling stake in Orascom Telecom Holding (ORTE.CI), which operates mobile phone networks in the Middle East, Africa and south Asia.

Morgan Stanley (MS) and Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP.MI) are advising on the sale process.

-By Marietta Cauchi, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9241; marietta.cauchi@dowjones.com

(Giada Zampano in Milan contributed to this story.)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

20-05-08 1136GMT