A deal announced in 2023 by CK Hutchison’s mobile business to spin-off various assets from its Italian operator Wind Tre and sell a 60 per cent stake in the new entity to EQT Infrastructure has been abandoned.

In a stock market statement, CK Hutchison Holdings said the closing conditions had not been met by the deadline of yesterday (12 February) and as a result the transaction would not take place.  

The spin-off had been expected to house the Italian operator’s active network equipment and wholesale service units and, together with the investment from EQT, had been long speculated when it was finally unveiled in May 2023.

CK Hutchison noted it “will continue to explore possible alternative infrastructure transactions to bring value to the company, including possible infrastructure transactions with EQT Infrastructure should the appropriate opportunity arise”.

The intention to potentially work on similar deals with CK Hutchison was also cited by EQT in its statement.

Originally the deal had been expected to close within six-to-nine months of being announced. However, in November 2023 Reuters reported completion of the deal was being delayed by the fact Wind Tre had network agreements in place with Iliad and Fastweb.