Ray Way, Viale Mazzini's share sale postponed to September

The sale of Rai Way shares will be discussed again in September. And it will not be about the 15% exceeding the 50% owned by Rai. It should not go beyond a 10% sale, with the aim of bringing home something like 130 million euros.

This is, according to the Sole 24 Ore, one of the points that emerged yesterday from the Rai board meeting that among the topics on the table was also the issue of the sale of towerco shares in the hands of Rai. The operation, which has been on the table since December, has been opposed by Rai Way's shareholder funds, which have always branded the sale as dangerous and capable of hindering the hoped-for marriage with Italy's other broadcasting tower player, Ei Towers, controlled by F2i (60%) and in which the Mediaset group has a 40% stake.

Now, however, the scene has been changed by the Prime Minister's Decree (Dpcm), which has in fact given the political imprimatur to the operation now considered a priority, emphasising the possibility, already envisaged by the previous Dpcm issued by the Draghi government, for RAI, which currently holds 65% of the capital of the company led by Roberto Cecatto, to reduce its holding. Everything, however, as can be read from the text of the same Dpcm, favouring 'operations functional to ensure aggregation between subjects in the same sector', namely Ei Towers. Any transactions involving the sale of minority stakes by Rai (assisted in this process by Lazard, while Citi is working alongside Rai Way), it is reiterated, moreover, can take place 'only if consistent and compatible with the purposes referred to in the previous period'.

In addition to the Rai Way issue, the Rai Board of Directors approved the preliminary contract for the lease of the property in Via Alessandro Severo in Rome to which the head office will go in the second half of 2025, given the renovation work in Viale Mazzini. A lease that, according to Sole 24 Ore, is 9+6 with 27,500 euro for the first six years.

In the meantime, Rai, which is putting on record an increase in advertising and growing ratings, also for Euro2024, is preparing to launch, perhaps as early as this week, a 300 million bond, already approved, which will allow the refinancing of the bond maturing next 4 December. The scheme sees UniCredit and Citi as arrangers. The final expected cost should be around 4-4.2%. The first window was scheduled for mid-June for an execution of about one month. However, the market performance of the last period would have invited to take some time.