Telecom Italia reportedly received three non-binding offers for its 45 per cent stake in tower unit Inwit, and expects to close a sale in June.

Spain’s Cellnex, long rumoured to be interested in the stake, launched a bid in collaboration with infrastructure fund F2i, while Ei Towers and American Tower also submitted offers, reports Italian daily La Stampa.

Telecom Italia, which sold a 40 per cent in the tower firm for a reported €875 million in an IPO last year, does not expect a deal to go through until the summer.

The IPO gave the entire business a market value of approximately €2.4 billion.

Telecom Italia set a 18 December deadline for offers after launching the sale process, and all three parties involved were linked to a possible bid last month.

Inwit operates approximately 11,500 sites across Italy and hosts radio transmission equipment for mobile networks.

Cellnex, which actually distanced itself from a possible bid for Inwit in September, was also floated by parent company Abertis for approximately €4 billion last year, as part of a growing trend across Europe to spin off tower infrastructure.