Telecom Italia unit Inwit lined-up bank loans of €2.5 billion ahead of the business merging tower assets with Vodafone Italy, Reuters reported.

The cash will reportedly be used to support the partnership and further develop Inwit’s business. The term of the loan facility, spread over several financial institutions, is five years.

Vodafone Italy and Inwit expect the deal to receive final sign-off from their parent companies next month. The agreement will drastically cut the cost of 5G deployment for the two operators, which spent a combined €4.8 billion in the country’s latest spectrum auction.

The cash layout comes at a time of squeezed margins in the Italian market due to falling consumer prices in the wake of the entry of low-cost player Iliad.

In addition to the Inwit pact, Telecom Italia and Vodafone Italy have a network sharing agreement in place signed in February. It covers 5G and could be extended to 4G.

Three months later, rumours emerged other operators may join the alliance, with Telecom Italia CEO Luigi Gubitosi suggesting there could be “common ground” to be found with Iliad.