Linkem sent so-called teasers out last week to dozens of investment funds and industrial players outlining plans to form a network company, leaving the door open for a possible disposal of a majority stake in the venture, two of the sources said.
One of the sources said the network company was looking for a valuation of more than 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion)
Linkem, which posted revenues of about 160 million euros last year, is expected to submit information memos to a group of selected investors at the end of January, the source added.
A spokesperson for the group declined to comment.
Linkem provides high speed connectivity through fixed wireless access technology (FWA), which uses radio waves to deliver broadband internet<\/a> services, to more than 700,000 customers across Italy.
The number of global FWA connections will grow to around 88 million in 2022 from about 60 million in 2020, according to consultant Deloitte<\/a>, with fifth-generation mobile networks enhancing the performance.
Linkem, which is majority-owned by Jefferies<\/a>, had been exploring plans to list before opting to bring an investor on board to help develop network operations.
\"The IPO still remains a long-term goal,\" the second source said.
The potential stake sale in Linkem's network business comes as telecoms firms across Europe draw increased interest from private equity and infrastructure funds for their fast broadband assets.
Many telecoms operators are looking to upgrade network infrastructures to meet growing data demand triggered by the health pandemic and government funding schemes to boost digitisation of economies.
Earlier this year, Swiss-based fund Partners Group<\/a> bought a 75% stake in Linkem rival EOLO, in a deal valuing it at 1.2 billion euros, a source said at the time.
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