(Jan 26): Italian fibre carrier Retelit SpA is considering a sale of its data-centre business in a deal that could value the unit at as much as €700 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
The company, owned by Spanish private equity firm Asterion Industrial Partners, is in early stages of its deliberations, the people said, asking not to be named discussing confidential plans. The business could be put on the market by early next year, they said.
The people cautioned that no decisions have been made, timing could be pushed out and the valuation could change, depending in part on investments made prior to a potential sale.
“Retelit has not initiated any formal sale process of its data centres,” the company said in response to queries from Bloomberg. It added that data centers are integral to its strategy, with a €370 million investment programme under way.
Representatives for Asterion didn’t respond to requests for comment.
A sale would allow Retelit to lower debt and lock in profit after the artificial intelligence (AI) boom drove interest in the sector, the people said. Infrastructure investors have increased their interest in data centre assets amid rising demand linked to cloud services, connectivity and data traffic growth.
See also: Amazon plans to cut 16,000 jobs as AI competition heats up
Retelit operates fibre-optic networks and data centres across Italy, serving telecom operators, businesses and cloud providers. The company says on its website that it has 38 data centres nationwide, including smaller facilities and equipment housing sites.
Italy has emerged as a key location for southern European data centres, with Milan a growing hub for cloud, interconnection and enterprise services alongside major European cities like Frankfurt, Paris, London and Amsterdam. Hyperscalers have been attracted to established areas with dense fibre networks given the limited power availability in some regions and lengthy development timelines.
The northern Italian market spans telecom operators, colocation specialists and US cloud groups building local infrastructure. Google, Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp and Data4 all have projects in the area.
See also: Advantest rushes to boost AI chip tester capacity to meet demand
Asterion, which focuses on infrastructure investments, has been active in Italy, teaming last year with the country’s Finance Ministry in a bid for Telecom Italia’s submarine cable unit Sparkle.
Uploaded by Felyx Teoh
