The ICT Group – one of Russia’s largest privately owned investment and industrial companies – announced last Monday its new status as the largest shareholder in Italian Wi-Max operator ARIA S.p.A., with a 28.6% stake.
The value of the deal remains undisclosed, but sources close to the transaction told Russian business daily Vedomosti that it counted in the “tens of millions of Euros.”
Founded in 2005, Aria is the only Italian operator with a nationwide Wi-Max license, which it obtained in 2008, the Russian group says. The company currently serves 300,000 clients in eight Italian regions and plans to extend its Wi-Max network to smaller cities and towns.
The company does not rule out, however, developing an LTE network in the longer term, said an ICT representative in an exchange with Russian business daily Vedomosti.
The ICT Group invests in, develops and manages assets in a wide range of industries, including banking and finance, metals and mining, precious metal production, heavy engineering, logistics, construction and real estate development.
The Russian group is also reported to be in talks for the acquisition of Bangladesh Internet Exchange, a Bangalese ISP.
