Large funds open Telepass dossier: spotlight on Partners Group's moves

Large private equity and infrastructure funds are beginning to study the dossier of Telepass, the Italian company that provides mobility services, both urban and extra-urban, with a wide range of services, including motorway electronic toll collection and parking payments.

Evaluating the dossier, according to rumours, are major international investors such as Antin, Stonepeak and Advent. Current shareholders in Telepass are Mundys (the former Atlantia), which holds 51 per cent of the capital, and the Swiss infrastructure fund Partners Group, which has the remaining 49 per cent.

A competitive sale process has not yet formally started on Telepass, but a warning light has gone on among industry players and large merchant banks after the lock-up period expired in April last year, at the end of which Partners Group can sell its stake. The process of selling the stake in the Swiss operator has not yet started, however, as Partners Group will have to notify the other Telepass shareholder, i.e. the former Atlantia, Mundys, of its decision to initiate the sale before doing so.

According to various financial sources, given the turmoil in the world of investment banking, the start of the process would, however, be a matter of a few months, probably from next September.

Partners Group, again according to sources, is studying the modalities of the transaction and the appetite of potential buyers, although it has not made any formal steps.