PRINT THIS PAGE US buy-out group Blackstone bids for Italian telecommunications company Wind17/02/2005. Source: AltAssets. 
 US The Blackstone Group has made an offer for a majority stake in Wind, the Italian telecommunications company owned by Enel, the Financial Times reported. According to the newspaper Blackstone has offered to buy a stake of about 63 per cent for just under E8bn. The deal, if completed, would represent the largest ever European leveraged buy-out deal.
By market share, Wind's mobile phone business is with 18.5 per cent the third largest in Italy, below Telecom Italia's 43 per cent and Vodafone's 36 per cent. Blackstone's offer values Wind at more than €12.6bn.
Reportedly, Enel has invited six private equity firms, including Carlyle, to consider bids and is also thinking about an IPO of Wind. A consortium including New York financier Wilbur Ross and former FIAT chairman Cesare Romiti, and the influential Egyptian Sawiris family have also shown and interest in acquiring a stake in the Italian communications company.
Blackstone's history of investments in the communications industry started in 1993. In recent years, Blackstone has increased its focus on Europe and opened a London office in August 2000 and a Hamburg office in September 2003.
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