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Vodafone, Enel near deal
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March 16, 2001: 4:27 a.m. ET
Italian firm reportedly close to $7.7 billion deal for telecom operator
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LONDON (CNN) - Vodafone is close to finalising the troubled sale of Italian unit Infostrada for $7.7 billion, according to a report on Friday.
An industry source told Reuters that Italian electricity supplier Enel would pay 16.5 trillion lire ($7.7 billion) for Infostrada, with an Enel board meeting Friday set to confirm the deal.
Neither Enel nor Vodafone would comment on the report when contacted on Friday by CNN.com.
The world's largest cellular network operator has been looking to sell the Italian fixed-line unit for some time, but an  11 billion ($9.9 billion) sale to Enel fell through earlier this year, after Italian regulators demanded the electricity firm make substantial disposals.
Enel then attempted to lop several billion dollars from the sale price as compensation for the forced asset sales, according to reports.
Italian regulators ordered Enel to sell 10 percent of its generating capacity, on the basis the firm could distort competition by jointly offering customers telephone and electricity services.
Vodafone acquired Infostrada as part of its record-breaking $173 billion purchase of Germany's Mannesmann last year. The cellular firm doesn't want to be involved in fixed-line communications, and needs the cash from a sale to help pay its hefty bills for acquiring and building next-generation cellular services.
Vodafone (VOD) shares fell 1.8 percent in early London trade on Friday, while Enel shares gave up 0.5 percent in Milan. 
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