Spain’s Cellnex Telecom and infrastructure fund F2i are reportedly preparing to launch a joint bid for Telecom Italia’s 45 per cent stake in tower unit Inwit, which was put up for sale last month.

According to Italy’s daily La Repubblica, the two parties will meet to finalise the proposal, before proceeding to submit their joint bid on 18 December, the deadline set for offers.

Inwit, which operates approximately 11,500 sites and hosts radio transmission equipment for mobile networks, has been subject to sale speculation for months.

In June, Telecom Italia raised a reported €875 million after selling a 40 per cent stake in the unit in an IPO, giving the entire business a market value of approximately €2.4 billion.

As part of a growing trend across Europe to spin off tower infrastructure, Cellnex itself was floated by parent company Abertis for approximately $4 billion earlier this year.

The company appeared to distance itself away from a possible bid for Inwit in September, despite widespread speculation, before this latest development.

However, a potential rival bidder for the unit could be El Towers, a unit controlled by commercial broadcaster Mediaset. According to Italian press, the company is preparing a bid, worth approximately €870 million, while American Tower could also be interested.