But CEO Federico Protto told Capacity that Retelit recognises it could be an acquisition target itself. “We can be a very attractive target for international companies that need to have a network in Italy,” he said.
Protto was talking to Capacity just 10 days after shareholders backed him for a further three-year term at the head of the company, rejecting moves by an activist investor to put a team including former Sparkle CEO Alessandro Talotta in charge.
In the past three years Protto and his colleagues have increased sales by 50% and turned a loss in 2014 to a healthy profit in 2017. “It was a significant turnaround,” he said. “Now the situation is healthier, what are we going to do with this money?” He wants to increase sales another 50% by 2022.
Retelit is looking for niche acquisitions, including municipally owned cable companies and “companies with a good competitive infrastructure base”. He is “already talking to several companies”, he said.
Outside Italy, Retelit has a partnership with BICS to go to destinations such as Frankfurt and London, but he is considering Asian expansion “through acquisition or partnerships – and a partnership is most likely”.
