Telecom Italia (TIM) and Vodafone Italy sold shares in their joint venture tower company Inwit for a total of €800 million, with the sum to be used to reduce debt.

In separate statements, TIM and Vodafone Italy detailed completion of a sale of 41.7 million shares of their respective holdings, priced €9.60 per share for a total income of of €400 million for each company.

The sale reduces the duo’s respective Inwit stakes from 37.5 per cent to 33.2 per cent, though they retain joint operational control of the tower business.

Both have agreed to a 90-day lock-in period covering subsequent share sales.

TIM and Vodafone Italy completed a merger of their tower businesses in March which resulted in Inwit becoming the second-largest tower company in Europe with a portfolio of 22,000 sites.

The operators previously noted they had an option to reduce their stakes in Inwit to 25 per cent after three years.