Enel close to selling Open Fiber stake to Macquarie, CDP : Sources

ROME/MILAN: Italy’s Enel is close to clinching a deal to sell its stake in fast broadband operator Open Fiber to Australian fund Macquarie and state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), three sources close to the matter told Reuters.

With talks entering a crunch phase ahead of a key Enel board meeting scheduled for Nov. 23, the government is ramping up pressure on the parties to speed up plans to create a national broadband operator, the sources added, asking not to be named.

Rome wants phone incumbent Telecom Italia (TIM) to merge its landline grid with Open Fiber, which is jointly controlled by utility Enel and CDP.