Exclusive-Italy sets terms for RaiWay stake sale, TV towers tie-up

By Giuseppe Fonte

STRESA, Italy (Reuters) -Italy has approved a decree enabling state broadcaster RAI to sell a stake in its tower unit RaiWay, as long as the disposal is compatible with a tie-up of RaiWay with rival EI Towers, a government source told Reuters.

Explored for years, a combination between RaiWay and EI Towers would create a national broadcasting towers champion worth more than 2 billion euros ($2 billion).

RAI in January said it planned to raise cash to finance its new business plan by selling a 15% stake in RaiWay.

Rome intends to keep control over an infrastructure deemed of strategic importance for the country, a copy of the document seen by Reuters showed.

To this end, an existing obligation remains in place for RAI, which currently owns 65% of Milan-listed RaiWay, to keep a stake of at least 30% in its tower business.

Shares in RaiWay extended gains after Reuters reported news of the decree, rising as much as 4.7%. By 1420 GMT, shares gained 3.9% at 5.08 euros each.

The decree indicated a merger as the way to cut RAI's stake in its towers unit by saying that the stake reduction was best pursued through "operations that ensure a combination of entities operating in the same sector."

Shares of RaiWay, or of any company resulting from a merger deal, should remain listed on the Milan stock exchange so as to have the widest possible shareholder base, it added.

EI Towers is 60% owned by Italian infrastructure fund F2i.

Italy's top commercial broadcaster MFE-MediaForEurope, which is controlled by the family of the late media tycoon and political leader Silvio Berlusconi, holds the remaining 40%.

($1 = 0.9244 euros)

(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte; Writing by Elvira Pollina; Editing by Valentina Za and Louise Heavens)