Leading shareholders in Italian broadcasting tower companies Rai Way MIL:RWAY and EI Towers failed to reach an agreement on the terms of a merger by a June 30 deadline set for their talks, a statement by national broadcaster RAI said on Wednesday.
Negotiations over a tie-up between Milan-listed Rai Way, controlled by RAI, and rival EI Towers were aimed at creating a single national broadcasting tower champion.
"After talks between the parties, the reviews did not yield a shared basis for negotiations, needed to continue pursuing the deal," the statement said.
EI Towers is 60% owned by Italian infrastructure fund F2i, with the rest held by Italy's largest commercial broadcaster MFE-MediaForEurope MIL:MFEA, controlled by the family of late former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.