Italian operator Wind Tre held talks with a potential investor over plans to spin-off its remaining infrastructure assets, Bloomberg reported, months after its 9,100 towers were sold to Cellnex.

Bloomberg reported the CK Hutchison-owned operator is mulling structurally separating the assets and selling a minority share in a newly-formed business housing them.

Swedish private equity company EQT, which in 2021 attempted to buy Dutch operator KPN as part of a joint venture, is said to have held preliminary discussions over making an investment in the spin-off.

The sale of its towers to Cellnex in 2021 was one of a number of separate transactions across various European markets by CK Hutchison and the infrastructure provider.

Speculation on its Italian business comes during a turblent period for the operator, with its parent frequently bemoaning deemed aggressive competition in the Italian market from MVNOs and Iliad Italia.

CK Hutchison booked an impairment charge of $2 billion on the business on lower expectations from its 5G-led growth.