The future of Open Fiber, the optical fiber player committed to cabling the national territory for five years, is reaching a turning point. After having previously given the go-ahead for the sale of 40% to the Macquarie Australian Fund, Enel, which until now held 50% of Open Fiber, has decided to sell its remaining 10% to Cassa depositi e prestiti (Cdp) for 530 million euros.
At the end of all the operations launched, the Cassa will thus become the first shareholder of Open Fiber, of which it will take control, followed by the Australian fund. Thus ends an era of which Enel was the protagonist in the development of optical fiber in Italy as it was more than twenty years ago, again in telecommunications, with the launch of Wind.
In addition to the rich capital gain it will collect, Enel can well say that it has contributed to the development of telecommunications and ultra-broadband in Italy and the satisfaction expressed yesterday by its CEO, Francesco Starace, is understandable. “We are extremely satisfied with these five fantastic years in Open Fiber”, in which “Italy has gone from the last positions to becoming a leader in the EU in terms of FTTH cabling”, passing 15 to 45% coverage of real estate units, with benefits for the country and for the companies involved. To date, Open Fiber has connected approximately 11,5 million real estate units in Italy via fiber infrastructure.
“And it is to CDP and Macquarie – concluded Starace – that we leave the honor of carrying forward this infrastructural project, which is essential for the country's recovery and growth”. An experience that Enel plans to repeat in other countries.
