Investors close in on Wind

The race for Wind, Enel SpA's telecommunications unit, is reaching its final stages. Enel is reportedly receiving offers from two investor groups, namely a consortium led by Blackstone and a group of private investors called the Weather Fund. The Blackstone consortium is believed to include Providence Equity Partners, Permira, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Citigroup. The offer reportedly values Wind at approximately E12.5bn, which includes exisiting debt of about E6.7bn. If successful, Blackstone may float the company as early as 2006. The second offer, put forward by the Weather Fund, is also estimated to be between E12-13bn. According to Il Sole 24 Ore, Apax Partners has agreed to support the fund, which comprises the Egyptian entrepreneur Naguib Sawiris, the American financier Wilbur Ross, and the French businessman Philippe Nguyen with his group Investors for Private Equity, supported by UBS, ABN AMRO and Deutsche Bank amongst others. Sawiris, whose family owns 57% of the telecommunications firm Orascom, plans to expand Wind throughout the Mediterranean. Enel, advised by Morgan Stanley and Studio Chiomenti, will announce its decision in a few weeks.

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