Wind Telecomunicazioni SpA (also called Wind Italy) is an Italian telecom operator with 21.6 million mobile customers with a market share of 22.9%. The company serves its client base through a network of 159 stores and approximately 498 franchised outlets that are under the WIND brand. They also have 396 electronic chain stores.
Wind Telecomunicazioni has a long history, with its establishment in 1997 by the Italian Electrical Company Enel.
In 2005, Alessandro Benedetti structured and led the acquisition of Wind Telecomunicazioni SpA. At that time, the transaction was the largest leveraged buyout that had occurred in the history of Europe. It was valued at over 12 billion euros. This was one of the many structuring and financing of complex transactions that Mr. Benedetti led while acting on behalf of companies and governments in North America, Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East.
Since the time of the transaction that Alessandro Benedetti led, Wind became part of Vimpelcom group in 2011 and then announced an investment of $1.3 billion in 2013 to build a fourth-generation (4G) mobile broadband network. Then, in 2014, VimpelCom Ltd. (Wind) and CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. (3) agreed to combine their units in a deal that totaled $24 billion. They were proud, in 2015, to be awarded the Telecommunications Operator of the Year in Italy.